


The Guardians

by BeaterNightFury, Miraha



Series: One Sky, One Family [3]
Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Big Brother Lea, Kingdom Hearts 3 Fix-It Fic, Multi, Plot mostly unchanged but reorganized, Sora is NOT a stupid kid, Sorikai this is not a drill!, Ventus and Roxas talking in Sora's head, Zack Fair Lives, hoping it does definitely do Kairi justice, other characters going into worlds like Sora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:27:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 64,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25128487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeaterNightFury/pseuds/BeaterNightFury, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miraha/pseuds/Miraha
Summary: "I couldn’t understand, but… look right in front of us now. He was right. Terra was right. I would find out someday… and I do now. It’s all of us."Sora, Riku and Kairi part their ways to protect the Princesses, save the lost Guardians of Light, and prepare for battle.Lea ends up facing his past once more, after eleven years.Ventus and Roxas patiently wait for the moment they get to play their part in the fight.The fated time is close.Seven versus thirteen.Sometimes, the difference is the only thing a hero can make.
Relationships: Aqua/Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Lunafreya Nox Fleuret/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Series: One Sky, One Family [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1423153
Comments: 16
Kudos: 20





	1. Dreams, Honor and Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> In the original, never published in English, draft of the story, we used to attach a playlist to every chapter so readers could have a soundtrack to it. We started doing it again, so if you see this mark in the text |>>| it's time to skip to the next track.  
> Here's the link https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdgj5x-BjVma51KjTmXoxd2KpCa7nB1k5 if you want to listen!

_They can take your world._

_They can take your heart._

_Cut you loose from all you know._

_But if it’s your fate, then every step forward…_

The snow outside the windows had turned the lawns around the castle white, and in normal circumstances, Ventus would have immediately rushed outside to build a snowman.

That Christmas, though, had been anything but normal, ever since the night he had stayed up trying to catch Santa in the act and instead he had _luckily_ been awake enough to warn the Master that Aqua’s baby was about to be born.

Some days had passed and it was the first morning of a new year, and despite both Terra and Aqua lately had been a _constant_ mess and were up at night several times because the baby cried, Master Eraqus had decided that, just like every New Year’s Day Ventus remembered, all the students in the castle would take a picture together (Terra said that the Master was _obsessed_ with taking pictures).

Among the gifts Santa had left under the tree a few days before there had also been a Moogle onesie, and Terra had decided to put Shiro in it only on that day, _on purpose_ for the picture. It seemed that the old saying about Santa Claus being omniscient was probably true.

Ventus understood a little why the Master was so keen on taking those pictures. For how many he had taken of Terra and Aqua, each on New Year’s Day, one could see the passing of time even just looking at the pages of the album. In the very first one Terra was smiling wide with two missing teeth, and Aqua almost seemed to be shying away from the lens. In the following one they were both posing with training swords, and in the third it was Aqua who showed missing teeth. Ventus had to turn seven more pages to see himself, standing on a small stool, staring vacantly away with Terra holding him by his shoulder. In the following picture, he, too, was smiling.

Ventus remembered seeing other albums, of other apprentices of the past, in which the tallest was posing _seated_ , but the Master seemed to be firmly against that pose, and that was Ven’s first year without having to stand on a stool not to seem _too_ short next to Terra and Aqua.

He would turn sixteen that year, he’d be just as old as Terra had been when he had arrived there. _That felt strange_.

«Ready for the picture, Ven?» A big, calloused hand ran through his hair tousling them, and Terra’s other arm caught his shoulders in a vice grip and pulled him backwards.

«Aww, Terra, _let go_!» Ventus dropped the album to escape from the incoming noogie. As if his older friend was really obeying him, Terra immediately let him go to prevent the album from falling to the floor. Ventus held back a chuckle.

«If we damage this, the Master’s reaction will be _much worse_ than the one he had in May…» Terra shook the dust off his clothes and put the album back on its shelf.

«I’m pretty sure we’ll get a scolding _anyway_.» Ventus did his best to fix his hair with his hands.

«What’s going on, _kupo_?» Aqua playfully scolded them as she entered the room with baby Shiro in her arms. The little one was wearing her Moogle onesie.

«Ven was looking at our pictures.» Terra gave him a pat on the shoulder. Aqua approached them and left Shiro in Terra’s arms. She wasn’t asleep, but she looked calm. When the baby was in the young man’s arms, the corners of her mouth raised in what looked like a grin.

_Even if it wasn’t_ , because the Master had explained to Ventus that a child so small did not _really_ smile in response to the world around them.

Terra did not seem to care, though, because he gave her the slightest tap on the nose and returned her grin, then he said: «Kupo!» in a sing-song voice.

«Shiro just had a bath, _daddy_.» Aqua put an arm around Terra’s back. «Now this little Moogle doesn’t stink anymore.»

Scenes like that just brought a smile to anyone’s face. The Master had said and repeated that Shiro, or at least her early arrival, had been an _accident_ , but to Ventus it felt hard to believe it was, looking at how happy his friends were in that moment.

«Do you think it was…» Ventus mumbled. «Fate or destiny or something?»

Terra and Aqua both looked up, both visibly confused by the question.

«Oh, _come on_ , Ventus, I think it’s way too simple to trace everything back to destiny.» The Master entered the room with his usual serious face. «One way or another, it depended on them. And _destiny_ is such a complicated thing that trying to explain it is no good… and so is using it to _explain_ what happens every day.»

He gestured for Ventus to come.

«Shall we fix that mop of yours before the picture?»

Ventus decided not to object: it had been months – ever since the Master had found out about Shiro – the Master was easy to anger. He nodded and followed him to his bathroom. The man found the comb and the gel and started fixing what Terra had messed up a few moments before.

«I still don’t understand…» Ventus commented as the Master combed his hair. «Why people always mention destiny when it is so hard to really talk about it.»

«Because too many people think they know what they’re talking about.» The Master kept working on Ventus’s hairstyle. «Some of my classmates, when I was your age, were _convinced_ destiny is never left to chance, but even assuming that as true… there are _so many_ possibilities that even _thinking_ of whatever one’s destiny could be is beyond even the oldest Masters’ knowledge and power.»

He sighed. Ventus concluded that that had to be one of the stories the Master didn’t want to talk about – Master Eraqus _rarely_ mentioned his adventures as a kid, and all that Ventus, Terra and Aqua had pieced together, and only because they had met him a couple of years before, was that he and a Master named Xehanort had once studied together.

Technically, Ventus had studied under Xehanort first, but he had no memory of it. He had probably even _had_ that speech about destiny and he could have forgotten it all.

Sometimes he felt kind of an idiot for forgetting everything. Sometimes he wondered if, a lifetime before, he had had a family, other friends, someone who could miss him…

The Master finished combing Ventus’s hair, cleaned his hands and patted him on the shoulder to signal him they were ready.

«Destiny is not to be waited for, or to be run after. It just happens, I suppose…»

They went back to the picture room. Terra and Aqua were waiting for them, and Terra still had Shiro in his arms, with the baby clutching one of Aqua’s finger in her hand. Terra was trying to sing something, an off-tune song about sunshine and being happy when skies were grey.

Ventus heard the Master sighing again… and for the first time after a week, Master Eraqus smiled at the baby.

«… and a big part of destiny is _always_ how we choose to act.»

* * *

_… will always be a step closer to home._

\- Thirteen Years Later –

|>>|

«You boys better be good!» Kairi glared at Sora and Riku. The three of them had changed outfits that morning, and their new clothes made them look actually older. Both Sora and Riku were dressed in black, and it was the first time, apart from the black coat, Shiro saw Riku having sleeves. Sora’s jacket had a red plaid collar, and Riku’s had yellow stripes on the sleeves and checkered patterns on the jacket and trousers.

Kairi instead was wearing a pink dress with a half black and half plaid skirt over black knee-length leggings. Sora had asked Merlin if he could have given his black and blue jacket to Shiro, only to receive a refusal because his old clothes wouldn’t have granted any kind of guard from darkness.

Lea had received new apparel of his own, but he was the only one at the table, apart from Shiro, to be wearing his old outfit. Both Kairi and Shiro had glared at him when they had gathered at the café owned by Tifa to have breakfast, but he had brought up a rather pathetic excuse and stuffed his face with scrambled eggs.

«Puh-lease, you’ve been wearing that _thing_ for so long it stinks!» Shiro joked pointing her spoon at him.

“ _He just won’t take it off, duh._ ” Ephemer intervened. “ _His friend is still in the Organization’s clutches, remember._ ”

Ephemer. Giving a name to the voice in her head still felt strange to Shiro. Riku had tried to describe him to her, but Shiro still hard a hard time picturing his face.

For how the others were laughing, joking and stuffing their faces (Sora had started making funny faces with his cheeks full of pancakes) it was hard to imagine they all were on the edge of a war.

It even felt hard to think once they were done with their meal, Riku would have _finally_ gone to look for her mother… now he was allowed to. It felt hard to know Sora knew where Ventus was and would have brought him back once the New Seven Hearts were safe.

It felt hard to realize that, had they won, Shiro would have had a family once again. A home.

Probably, had there been a way to bring Roxas back… she had a promise to keep to him. And Naminé, who had disappeared after helping Sora regain his memory, with no trace of where she had gone. And then there was… was she forgetting someone? Why did she feel like that?

«Hey, Shiro, what’s wrong? Aren’t you hungry?» Riku looked up at her. She hastily finished her meal, but _Riku himself_ seemed worried about something.

When everyone’s plates were clean, the boy leaned against the backrest, closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands. He then gave a glance first to Sora, and then to Kairi.

«I’m about to tell the craziest thing in my life,» he admitted.

«No, dude, that was last year.» Kairi immediately joked, then she turned serious. «What’s wrong?» She almost seemed worried.

«Well, I already said something to Sora yesterday, but… it just didn’t feel right, that’s something I have to say with the both of you listening.» Riku looked down. «Uhm, I…»

«You need the room?» Lea intervened. Shiro stared at him – she didn’t get what he meant, so she stayed in her seat, while Lea instead left his and walked outside.

_Weird_. Well, the café wasn’t that small, and Shiro was at the other end of the table compared to where Riku was, so she didn’t move.

«I mean, I…» Riku mumbled again. «I mean, you know I love you both, right? That you’re the two most important people in my life and…»

«And the sea is blue and the aracuan bird is out of its tree and high as a kite. Right?» Sora punched Riku’s shoulder. «We know. And you’re the best ever. Isn’t he, Kairi?»

“ _Nothing. No way. They just can’t_.” Ephemer commented.

«I don’t get it.» Shiro admitted out loud, and Riku nervously glanced at the screen of his new gummiphone and mumbled it was getting late.

«Yeah, right… Cloud told me he’d be waiting at the hangars…» Sora said, standing up.

Kairi looked at the two boys running off and sighed.

«Well, I’ll go see if Merlin has more magic books he wants us to study,» She said in a slightly defeated tone. «See you soon, guys. Shiro, can you go look for Lea?»

«Sure thing!» Shiro faked a salute and rushed out of the diner.

She had no _idea_ of where her friend could be, but the Justice’s house was not too far from Tifa’s place… and maybe Justice Ilyas knew something.

Five minutes later, she was heading to the gardener’s house, because His Honor had stated that Lea once had lived in the house next door with his grandmother and sister.

_She really couldn’t miss it_. The Fairs’ house was right next to the castle walls, and on its left, there was another, abandoned house. Shiro could see a tire hanging from the branch of a tree in the backyard of the empty house.

“ _It’s called a swing_ ,” Ephemer pointed out. “ _Because you sit on it and you swing._ ”

And Lea was there, sitting on the tire. _Crying_.

«Axel!» Shiro ran to him. He hardly noticed her presence. Someone had written “Eadmund” on the wheel.

«Axel, what’s wrong? Do you need an ice cream?» Shiro invaded the line of sight of her friend standing right in front of him. Lea stopped crying for a moment and rubbed at his face with a sleeve.

«Ice cream after eggs, bacon _and_ waffles?» He commented. «You’re going to get sick, ‘Shroom.»

He stood up, leaving the swing swinging empty.

«Do you want to get on? I can push you!» He pointed at the tire.

Shiro sat on the swing, but she stayed still. She had already seen Lea – well, Axel – faking cheerfulness not to worry her, even if no matter how she tried, she could not remember neither when nor why.

But the frustration for those lost memories could wait in that moment… she realized that Lea had lived in that house with his family, with a grandmother and a little sister, a little sister that probably had played on that swinging tire, a sister that according to Ate and Nines had been named Kairi, _Kairi like Sora’s friend_ , and she probably even had that age.

_And she wasn’t dead, because Shiro had seen Xehanort tossing her in a Corridor._

«Axel, before they got me…» she confessed. «I was in Ansem’s computer. With Ate and Nines. We had found something… there was Xehanort, in the computer room, and there was you… and Saïx and a red-haired girl who called Xehanort a fartface, and… and told him to _leave her brother alone_.»

Lea flinched. He had to remember what had happened in such a scene. What escaped his lips was barely a whisper, but Shiro could discern the word “ _Kairi_ ”.

«Xehanort didn’t kill her, Axel.» Shiro stood up. «He threw her in a Dark Corridor. She sent her to _another world_. And there’s a girl from high school, name’s Yuna, who actually saw Kairi yesterday and she thought she was a friend of hers. You’re twenty-seven now, right? According to files Ate decoded, she was twelve years younger, and if Sora is fifteen and Kairi’s his same age…»

«She wouldn’t be fifteen, she’d still be fourteen.» Lea shook his head. «Her birthday was December ten.» He leant against the tree, then he sighed and looked at what had been his home.

«Yeah, Shiro… _it’s her_.» He admitted. «I was already thinking about it. Ever since Merlin put two bats in our hands and told us to beat the crap out of each other. But… I didn’t want to think about it. I didn’t want to _hope_. She doesn’t remember a thing.»

«You’re not going to leave me now you know, are you?» Shiro looked down.

«What?» Lea shook his head, confused. «Shiro, it’s not like this! Kairi is Kairi, just like Roxas is Roxas, Sora is Sora and you are you. I care for you all in different ways, so it’s not like you’re competing for my attention or something…» He looked down once again. «Anyway, I’m not going to make her get her past memorized.»

Instinctively, Shiro marched towards Lea and stomped her foot hard on his.

«Are you _nuts_?» She protested.

Lea grimaced, but said nothing. Shiro stepped backwards. She couldn’t get him… she could only think of all the people she knew who had lost someone, she could only think to her own family, _Mom and Dad_ , Lea could have hugged his sister tight in any moment, so _why wouldn’t he_?

«She’s your family.» She added. «You _have_ to tell her… you have to tell her you’re her brother… you have to bring her here, tell her it used to be her home!»

«She will know… when I’m ready.» Lea stared at his boots. «She… hates me, Shiro. I had tried… to hurt her… because I thought that could set Roxas free.» He snorted. He seemed to have realized something. «And Saïx probably _knew_ about her. He had the data in his computer about Sora’s friends… _for how long did he hide this_?»

«Xemnas slashed at his face. When he tried to help Zack…» Shiro admitted.

“ _And that was no any old wound, that’s a Recusant’s Sigil._ ” Ephemer pointed out, and Shiro repeated out loud.

«Say what?» Lea asked.

“ _In brief, Saïx’s behavior…_ ”

«Could be related to that scar on his face.» Shiro parroted Ephemer. «Xemnas sees him. Xemnas controls him.»

Lea sighed and bit his lip.

«Why do we get stuck with the icky jobs?»

“ _Why does he have to be so stubborn_?” Shiro couldn’t say if Ephemer was more annoyed or amused.

«You at least could give Kairi a hug.» The girl reminded the man. «For now, I can only cross my fingers for Riku and the King to come here soon with Mom.»

Lea looked at her and gave her a sad grin – he probably had realized that wasn’t the best thing to say in front of her. He put a hand on his shoulder, then he squeezed her in a hug.

«Whatever happens, Shiro…» He whispered to her. «You have me and I have you. And we’ll bring Roxas and your family home. And Isa, too.»

He let her go, then he put a hand on her shoulder again.

«Master Riku will be back soon. And your mother will be with him.» He reassured her. «And when all of this is over, I promise you I’ll bring Kairi here. I’ll show her the pictures Grandma hung on the walls. But… not now. Not…»

“ _Let’s not insist, Shiro. I don’t think he feels like it right now. I don’t think… he’d be able to._ ” Ephemer dissuaded her from speaking.

«Okay.» Shiro resolved, then she grinned at her friend. «But we’d better go now. _Your sister_ ’s looking for you.»

Lea flinched as if someone had stung him, but he said nothing else, stretched his arms and started walking.

«So, ready to train with the big guys…?»

* * *

|>>|

_At long last, the time had come._

_The planets were edging into perfect alignment, and the plan Hades devised eighteen years ago was about to reach fruition._

_The Fates had predicted this very future – the day he would seize control of Olympus and rule over all the cosmos. Hades’ previous attempts – using Terra, Cloud and Auron to advance his plans for conquest – had failed._

_The hour was not yet right._

_But now, the planets were aligned and nothing could possibly go wrong…_

_… a word of caution to this tale_

_Should Hercules fight, Hades will fail._

Sora had never been in Thebes before, and he doubted either Donald or Goofy had any memory of the place, but Cloud seemed to remember well the city, judging by the worried look on his face right after he had taken a glance at the buildings.

A moment after, Sora understood, too: there were signs of a recent attack almost _everywhere_.

«… and I’d call my old friend Icarus to ask for help in fixing this mess, but until we’re not sure it’s the last of them, to look for him in Athens would be a waste of time… if not even dangerous for the city.» Hercules was saying, looking almost annoyed.

«What’s going on?» Cloud didn’t beat around the bush. «Is this a bad time?»

«Take a guess. _Starts with an H_.» Hercules shrugged.

«For a change.» Cloud covered his eyes with a hand. «Well, we’re here now. We might as well help.»

Hercules led the way in a square. A marble colossus had been sculpted with his looks in the center of it.

«So, is there a reason you guys are visiting?» He stopped and gave them a grin. «I’m guessing it’s not just for the cheese and olives.»

Sora exchanged a glance with Cloud and the older boy nodded. He had to do the talk.

«You did know Zack, didn’t you?» the guard asked.

Hercules had a start. He seemed to recognize the name.

«I haven’t heard that name for years.» He admitted. «I was, like, at the end of my first year of school in Athens. I studied in the morning and trained in my free time. Phil took me to the Coliseum during the summer vacation to take part in the tournaments, and Zack tried to receive some training himself. That was also the first time I saw a Keyblade, there was this other boy, same age as Zack but something like a head shorter. Ven was the name. He gave me some fighting tips, but then he vanished without a trace. They both did… it didn’t feel good… apart from Icarus and Cassandra, I didn’t have many friends as a kid.»

«We found out yesterday that Zack was… _struck down_. Some years ago.» Sora ran a hand through his hair, but his words weren’t really his. He expected Ventus to finish speaking, but the boy said nothing else, and it was Sora who had to conclude. «As for Ven… he’s right here.» He pointed at his heart.

«You serious?» Hercules had probably seen a lot of strange things, but his face was the picture of surprise.

«What, you thought I’d never come back?» Ventus made Sora say, making him shrug and raise his arms.

Hercules hinted at a grin, then he gave a sad glance at Cloud.

«What happened to Zack? Sora… well, _Ven_ … told me he was struck down.»

Cloud stared at his boots.

«I didn’t even remember what happened before Shiro told me,» he mumbled. «We were supposed to save her. Shiro. From her kidnappers. There was a mole amongst them, but they found him out. We were attacked… and Zack tried to protect me.»

Hercules took a deep breath. He was probably having a hard time, staying stoic.

«Around here, that’s what makes you a true hero.» He grinned bitterly. «Putting others first, even at the cost of your own life.»

He looked up at the grey sky.

«Had it happened here, the gods would have allowed him a second chance at life.» He looked down again, this time towards the city. «We could… go to the temple, though. Pay respects to him as the hero he turned out to be.»

They all were crossing the square when fiery streaks rained from the sky, and fireballs started falling on some of the buildings.

Fireballs? No, wait. _Heartless_. They were flaming Heartless and they were attacking the Thebans.

«No rest for the heroes!» Hercules commented, almost annoyed, then he took a look around to evaluate the situation. «Alright, guys, we’d better split up. Sora, Donald, Goofy, you work better as a trio. You take the north and west districts. Cloud, you go east. I’ll take the south. We’ll regroup in the square when the city is safe.»

They set off in three different directions. Donald quickly explained to Sora how to cast a water spell to put fires out, and apart from the flaming Heartless several Shadows and Soldiers had appeared, but it was _nothing_ that hard. It even felt easy to Sora, almost ludicrous. He was tempted to ask Ventus whether he was helping him, but the voice in his head anticipated the question.

“ _No, I’m not doing anything. They’re weak, period_. _Hades is no longer in cahoots with Maleficent, so I doubt he still has much stuff to throw out of the Styx._ ”

«So why is he throwing this garbage out of the Styx? Against _Hercules_ of all people?» Sora asked, out loud so Donald and Goofy could hear.

“ _Sora, look again. I don’t think they’re after Hercules._ ” Roxas intervened. Meanwhile, a Shadow was dangerously approaching a little kid.

«Flare!» Donald quickly raised his scepter and incinerated the creature with a rocket.

«It doesn’t make any sense…» Sora mumbled. «You could send a thousand of these and they wouldn’t be able to land a claw on Herc. He’d just have to find them all and make sure they won’t harm the people…»

«Aw-yuk, that would mean the target isn’t Hercules.» Goofy stopped once the streets were clear. «Still, if Hades is really sending out Heartless, now Hercules is so busy he can’t go look for his friend Icarus in Athens so he can get the city fixed up…»

«Exactly! The Heartless are a diversion!» Ventus made Sora say, then he immediately gave him back control, leaving Sora puzzled and grumbling. «A diversion? For what?»

|>>|

No one had the time to think about it: the earth started shaking, and a huge shadow obscured the cloudy sky.

«A _giant_!» Donald squawked, pointing at it.

«No, Donald, that’s a _Cyclops_ ,» Goofy corrected him, pointing at the only eye in the middle of the colossus’s head.

«A _giant Cyclops_ , okay? Still it’s only got a loincloth on, so we can forget sewing it in its own clothes, it’s barefoot so we can’t make it trip on its own shoelaces, and we don’t even have a quackin’ beanstalk. _How do we take it down_?» Donald protested as the Cyclops approached the city.

«Not on our own… let’s fall back!» Sora took control of the situation and started running.

Hercules and Cloud, too, seemed to have seen the threat, because Hercules was in the square and Cloud was reaching him, while Meg and Phil led the Thebans away.

«Any idea?» Cloud immediately asked Sora and Hercules, while the colossus kept approaching them wobbling like a drunk.

«Phil once mentioned another student of his. Odysseus-something.» Herc mumbled. «One of us has to get up high. The thing has only one eye, we gotta blind it!»

“ _Get up high. Get up high_.” Ventus was saying. “ _Sora, he’s gotta throw you_!”

«What…?» Sora said out loud. «Herc, could you… throw me?»

«What do you want to do, Sora?» Cloud seemed confused.

«I can cast a Fira…» Sora spoke, as Ventus kept giving him suggestions. «But not that far. And Herc could throw Ventus when he was in school…!»

«Fine, but make it quick. And please don’t make it fall on the city.» Cloud took a hand to his chin.

«There’s a crag near the stadium. A precipice higher than that thing. We have to lure it there!» Hercules pointed at the acropolis.

«I got this!» Donald exclaimed, summoning a bunch of rockets and making them fly around the colossus.

Hercules quickly led the way for Sora and Cloud, until they were in an area of the city in which only temples and villas were standing. The stadium Herc had mentioned was there, too.

«So, will blinding that thing do?» Cloud asked once they got there. Donald’s fireworks were slowly leading the Cyclops to them.

«Any better idea?» Hercules knelt and put his hands on Sora’s ankles.

«Check that out! _Shoelace_!» Goofy pointed at a bundle of rope left in a cart.

«Shoelace?» Cloud picked up one end of the rope.

«No time! Gotta act!» Hercules _grabbed_ Sora’s ankles and started spinning him around. Sora was about to feel sick when Hercules finally let him go, and he went up like a rocket, and he was closer and closer to the Cyclops, closer, he took aim with his Keyblade and hit the giant’s eye with a Fira… now all he had to do was to fall properly… he did a backflip in midair and landed on his feet into what totally looked like a sand pit… was that the _long jump pit_?

Oh, well, no time to think about it… the Cyclops had his only eye closed shut and was slapping at its own face, wobbling in pain… but Cloud was holding one end of the rope in front of its feet… and Goofy had the other end.

Of course… _shoelace_. Donald had mentioned that was one way to best a giant in a fight!

«Sora, are you doing a sand bath or what? Come give us a hand!» Cloud yelled at him. Donald helped Goofy, Hercules reached Cloud and Sora, after thinking about it for a moment, put his hands on Goofy’s rope right before the Cyclops’s foot started getting tangled in the rope.

The ground shook again when the monster fell from the crag, and the dust that was raised obscured the sky. For a moment, Sora feared getting deafened again, like in the Dark Corridor when Axel had triggered that explosion, but when Hercules spoke again, Sora realized with relief he could hear him.

«Now that was a surprise. How could Hades pull _that_ out of his toga?» Herc was saying.

|>>|

As the dust settled, Sora was sure he could hear someone clapping.

«Oh, wow. Very nice. Full marks.»

That was _Xigbar_. Did he want to make things worse? Was he looking for Princesses…? No, there was just Meg around there, and whoever had any doubts about her having darkness in her heart… well, she did have it. No, he was probably looking for their thirteenth…

«Nice reunion of friends here… the three heroes saving the day… all this altruism is giving me the warm and fuzzies. So then, does having a heart of light come with an extremely good insurance policy? Because looking at Spike One and Spike Two, I highly doubt it does.»

Cloud’s jaw stiffened, and his face went from surprise to purple with rage.

«Go have a drink of hemlock… you foul-smelling sewage vermin.» He hissed in a voice that wasn’t his own.

Xigbar stepped backwards, feigning surprise and delusion.

«Oh, and since when does a true hero talk like this?» he gloated.

«Maybe when we see a _true monster_ like you.» Cloud put a hand to his sword. There was something different in the way he moved.

«Save your breath, _scamp._ No good will ever come from putting other people first.»

«That’s what you think!» Sora sided with Cloud.

«Sora and Cloud are right! I was able to save Meg’s life because I was ready to risk my own!» Hercules concluded.

«Because you’ve got friends in high places, you mean.» Xigbar passed in front of him, smug like a vulture that had just spotted a carcass. «Tricks like that don’t fly for your average joe. Just try asking Sora why he’s giving Ventus a ride. Or didn’t you even notice _it wasn’t Cloud talking a few seconds ago_?»

«What?» Hercules turned to Cloud. He seemed to have understood something that wasn’t quite clear to Sora.

«I don’t admire one guy leaping into danger if it means someone else might have to jump in to save him. You’re all just lining up to lose out, dooming others to take the fall with ya. Just like Ventus and Zack did… and Zack’s sticky end actually made him stick to his bestie, too.»

Cloud clutched the hilt of his sword so hard that Sora thought his knuckles had to be turning white beneath the gloves. His lower lip had started trembling.

«Oh, and you can spare me the usual party line.» Xigbar turned to Sora. «Yes, hearts are powerful when they’re connected. But if you put too much of that power in one place, some of those hearts might end up breaking.»

He then threw a final glance at Hercules.

«As for you, daddy’s boy, I’d check your safety net if I were you. Somebody in this world doesn’t want you to leave this city… _who knows for what reason_.»

He turned again, still walking in the clouds of dust, until he opened a Dark Corridor and vanished.

|>>|

Cloud let go of the sword, then he lowered his head and started mumbling, as if he was talking to himself.

“ _He’s not talking to himself,_ ” Ventus immediately corrected Sora. “ _I don’t know how it happened, but… Zack. Zack is here. That was his voice, Sora, it was his voice we heard_.”

Something moved in the sky before Sora could reply, and in a few moments, Meg landed in front of them riding Pegasus.

«We checked the whole area. It looks like everyone’s safe.» Meg announced. «You heroes have been busy little bees. But… I fear there’s more trouble. The sky over Olympus is turning black.»

Hercules was the first who looked up. For how _quickly_ the sky around the mountain was turning black, that could mean nothing good.

«It’s Hades.» Hercules commented worriedly. «I hope I’m wrong, but my family may need me.»

Meg left Pegasus’s back, letting Hercules get on.

«Sora, Cloud, I need your help. Stay here and protect the city.»

«You can count on us!» Sora folded his arms behind his head. _And Ven and Zack_ , he would have wanted to say, but he didn’t know if saying that out loud would have caused grief to his friend.

«Good luck!» Meg waved at Herc as he flew up.

They remained in silence, looking at the top of the mountain, while the sky around it grew darker and darker.

«Doesn’t Herc… live over there?» Ventus took a chance to speak with Sora’s vocal cords. «I met him long ago. He told me he wanted to get back there…»

«People do change, I guess.» Meg shook her head. «He decided he’d rather stay here, in Thebes. And he asked me to marry him.»

She smirked.

«I obviously said yes.»

She didn’t seem worried because of the situation, or maybe she was, but she didn’t show it. Sora thought that Ventus might have had something else to ask, but in his mind there was nothing but silence. He stuck a hand in his pocket and pulled out the phone he had found in his bag along with the new clothes, looking at the screen not to focus on his worry about Herc. The city was calm, but the sky was still black.

Maybe there was something he could have done. He opened his list of contacts and found Kairi’s number, then he opened the texting app and wrote her “Hey. Guess what we found out? Zack lives!”. Shiro would have been happy to know about it… and maybe Lea too…

The telephone confirmed the sending of the message, but there was no blue mark, so that meant Kairi hadn’t read it. She had to be busy.

Something exploded in the sky, far away from Olympus. The clouds around the summit started getting lighter, until they were white once again.

«We won!» Donald shouted, jumping on the spot.

People had started filling the streets, pointing at the sky, exulting and hugging each other. Was it really over?

Looked like it was… and then Hercules came swooping down on Pegasus, got off his horse and smiled at them all.

«Titans. That’s what he sent here. That’s what he sent on Olympus.» He looked tired. «Looks like _today_ the stars were aligned for the opening of their prison. But it’s over. They’re gone. Looks like I made a difference.»

«I guess that’s all we can make, sometimes.» Cloud shrugged. Or was that Zack?

Then Hercules went to Meg, embraced her and gave her a kiss.

“ _Aaaargh, get a room, get a room!_ ” Ventus protested in the privacy of Sora’s mind. “ _I say, it wasn’t that bad with Terra and Aqua…_ ”

* * *

|>>|

Half of the roof of the temple had been wrecked by the Cyclops’s hands, and the night sky was filled with stars.

The embers were flickering on the temple altar, and Hercules had laid on a nearby table three cups that seemed to be containing milk and honey.

«You’re supposed to drop some of it on the floor. Before drinking.» Herc explained giving one to Sora and another to Cloud. He took the third for himself. «Here’s to Zack, and to his honor as a hero.»

He tilted his cup, just enough to let some of the milk fall to the floor.

«Here’s to our dreams.» Cloud murmured, raising his own cup before making the same gesture.

Sora remained still for a moment, staring at the vessel in his hands. He felt _terribly_ out of place in that moment. It should have been Ventus, _in person_ , holding that cup of milk in his hands. It wasn’t _really_ his place to…

“ _Sora, let it go. It’s your right to stay here as much as mine. Aren’t you my trick, after all?_ ” Ventus tried to tranquilize him.

«No, Ven, that’s different. I’m… your friend, I guess.» Sora murmured and smiled, then he cleared his throat and raised his voice. He tilted the cup and dropped a little milk, then he looked at the other two.

«Here’s to friendship!»

Xigbar would have never understood _why_ Zack had bet his life trying to protect a friend… but his nonsense wouldn’t have stopped Sora and his friends from doing the next right thing.

They had a universe to save, friends to help, and a ludicrous thing like _danger_ wasn’t going to stop them… not when the fates of so many people were at stake.

After all, a hero had to do what a hero had to do.


	2. Stand By Me, Distant From You

Sora opened the door to Merlin’s house only to find himself in front of a scene worth of the middle school drama club. Flora, Fauna and Merryweather were discussing animatedly, and Shiro was standing in the middle, looking about to lose her patience.

«Sora! Cloud!» she shouted, running to give Sora a hug.

«Hi, Shiro. Shouldn’t you be with Lea and Kairi?» Sora returned the hug.

«She _should_ indeed.» Flora gave the kids a reproaching look. «If Yen Sid had not _forgotten_ she’s supposed to be in need of new garments as well. So now _someone_ has to take care of her, too!»

«Well, Flora, she should not need new clothes.» Fauna reached her. «After all, she’s not going to any mission, unlike the others.»

« _Sgrunt_! She may not be going, but don’t you think Xehanort will go after her anyway?» Merryweather grumbled. «They can’t keep her safe forever! She needs to be _ready_!»

«Merryweather! Shiro is _twelve years old_.» Flora pointed out. «We said _safe_. Not ready for a battle.»

«Do I have to remind you what happened to Aurora when you made us agree not to say a word, _Flora_?» The fairy in blue stared defiantly at the one dressed in red.

«It’s been, like, two hours they’ve been arguing.» Shiro chuckled. «I could be practicing magic with Lea and Kairi and I’m stuck here. While they fight over my new clothes.»

Even Cloud chuckled.

Behind Sora and Cloud the door opened again, and entered a man in a white lab coat and an ascot, with half his face covered by long hair.

«Ienzo?» Cloud had a start. He didn’t seem to be expecting to see him again, at least not there.

«I left the castle as soon as I saw the ship landing.» The young man said immediately. «Sora, Kairi has read your message. I think I may have a hypothesis about what happened… and we probably have a way to help Zack… and Roxas as well.»

Sora and Cloud exchanged looks. Sora wasn’t sure he understood why Ienzo had mentioned Roxas, too, but a piece of news like that was interesting without a doubt.

«Do you want to follow me to the castle?» Ienzo looked at the two boys.

Sora almost didn’t let him finish, and Cloud hesitated a little, but followed him.

«We’re trying to take care of the castle, the other apprentices of Ansem and I,» Ienzo started explaining. «We spent the last couple of days searching the rooms, looking for studies and for _people_.» He looked down. «One of us, Even, vanished without a trace. Which makes our work harder, but let’s not count our Chocobos before they hatch.»

What once had been a restoration site was now the main street. Sora couldn’t help thinking at how much things had changed, but the streets still felt too silent for a normal borough.

«I’ve had the pleasure to meet the new auxiliary programs in the computer. Ate and Nines, if I recall.» Ienzo started speaking again. «They’re busy recovering all the old data, and they came across something called the Replica Project.»

Cloud stopped and pulled a face.

«Yeah. That.» Ienzo stopped, too, then he restarted walking. «When it started, I was barely told it was a plan to improve the training of new city guards, transferring into them the abilities of the guards we had lost. But reality was different, and I think Xehanort and Braig were plotting something behind all of that.»

«Tell me something I don’t know.» Cloud rolled his eyes. They had reached the castle doors.

«Something you don’t know: it could save your friend Zack.» Ienzo hinted at a grin. «We have his data in the main computer. If we could recover enough instructions on how to create a Replica from scratch, we could save _both_ Zack and Roxas. Or whoever might need a physical body.»

He opened the door.

«There’s a but.» He looked down. «Many of the files have been crypted with security codes that act like a trap. Ate, Nines and Tron have crashed several times while hacking into them, and I think that’s what also happened when Shiro entered the dataspace the other day… and the only User that kept a spare copy of those studies… well, that would be Even.»

They were about to get inside when something, or better someone, squeezed between Ienzo and Sora.

«I say, it was _endless_!» Shiro stopped next to Sora and sighed. «Pink, blue, green, keep me safe, keep me ready… blast those three!»

She finally had new clothes too: she wore a mostly black jumpsuit with a white upper left side, and a single sleeve on that side, the left leg of the trousers cut off at the thigh, and over it a lilac sleeveless jacket with a plaid pattern on the bottom.

Ienzo strategically ignored her, but Sora patted her on the elbow and gave her an understanding grin. He knew a thing or two about apparel-making fairies and arguments about colors.

«So now we have to find Even?» Sora asked Ienzo.

«You’re making it sound _easy_.» Ienzo led them through hallways Sora could hardly remember. «We do need Even for the bodies, but Replicas also need _data_ for the body to match the heart. We should have Zack’s, but I don’t even know if data for Roxas _exist_ … and we’d need some way to create or retrieve them.»

«There’s a computer in Twilight Town.» Shiro hardly let Ienzo finish speaking. «A digital city. If DiZ made data for all the townspeople he made…»

«That could be it!» Sora finished her sentence. «Okay, I’m going to Twilight Town. I’ll catch up with Donald and Goofy at the hangar and…»

“ _Sora, we’re supposed to find the New Seven Hearts and make sure they’re safe. You’ve already made a deviation, what if we waste too much time?_ ” Ventus objected.

“ _Yeah, you didn’t object to the first one because you actually wanted to do that,_ ” Roxas replied to him. “ _Sora, please, do as he says. Find those Princesses, then catch up with Riku and put this killjoy back where he belongs, I beg you_.”

A few hours later, Sora was in the cockpit of the Gummiship, with a new app on his phone Ienzo had installed – something that could locate nearby strong sources of light or darkness and would have turned out to be useful to locate either Princesses or the Darknesses tailing them.

Ienzo was also working on a more powerful counterpart to it, that could locate strong sources of light and darkness in different worlds, so it could be installed on the Gummiship’s navicomputer, but had stated that it needed calibration and would have called for Sora, Donald and Goofy once it was ready. Sora’s tinier app on the phone was actually helpful for the calibrations: the data he would gather would be used as adjustment for the main program.

«So, in brief, where are we going _now_?» Donald exasperatedly asked once Sora was done explaining the program.

«Well, if we don’t have a course for now, what about Twilight Town?» Sora summoned the Kingdom Key and focused on opening a portal. «It’s the closest world, after all!»

* * *

Three kids were sitting on a bench at the railway station.

One of the three was staring at nothing in particular, the only girl was looking at the timetable boards, and the stocky boy was holding a letter in his hands.

«Oh come on, Pence, isn’t that piece of paper already worn?» The thinner boy, whose head was covered in sand-colored curls, addressed the other.

Luna adjusted her bag on a shoulder and took a glance at them again. Pence had to be Prompto’s little brother. In some ways, he looked nothing like him – especially for physical appearance – but the camera he carried and his clothing style left no room to doubt.

She stopped. She was a stranger in that world, and she might have left the hangar before the boys, but she did not know the way, and she surely did not want to get lost.

«Looks like someone else used the hangars while we were traveling. And several times too.» Noctis reached her, chuckling. «Well, Pence did mention a Sora. That was probably him.»

On the boy’s shoulder, Cookie the cockatoo squawked: « _Cookie want cookie!_ ». The boy quickly shut him up covering the bird’s head with a hand.

Prompto joined them and started looking at the three kids. He was visibly trying not to immediately give himself away.

«My baby brother… he got so big…» He whispered.

«How old is Pence again?» Luna asked him.

«Fifteen. I missed his birthday.» Prompto sighed.

«Get a grip, man. You’re not the only one who left a sibling behind.» Gladio passed in front of him and patted his shoulder.

«So, are we heading home or what?» Ignis reached them with the last of the baggage.

«Speak for yourself, Iggy. You don’t have to face the old guy at home.» Noctis heaved a sigh and headed towards the exit.

«I really don’t get it. Why is he so anxious?» Prompto asked Gladio. «He’s taking home _his girlfriend_!»

«You know _really_ nothing, huh?» Gladio playfully shoved him. «Oh, sweet summer child…» He had gotten literally _obsessed_ with a TV series about dragons, ice giants and Dark Age politics during their stay in New York.

The girl looking at the timetables looked at them, then she poked the boy reading the letters.

«Pence!» She asked him. «Isn’t it them?»

The boy looked up. He threw the letters aside. He sprang to his feet and ran towards them, then he almost tackled Prompto to the ground.

«I had almost lost hope!» Pence hid his face in his brother’s clothes. Luna could hear him sobbing.

«Come on, kid, you knew I’d come back.» Prompto returned the hug, then he made a step backwards and tousled his brother’s hair. «So, what’s the story? What happened with the cloned city?»

«Oh…» Pence turned serious again and wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand. «Come, it’s a long story and we’d better discuss it as we walk.» He gestured to follow him, then he looked at Luna. «I don’t think I know you, do I? I’m Pence, Prompto is my brother. And the ones over here are Hayner and Olette.»

He spent most of the walk telling them about a boy, Sora, coming out of nowhere, and that he seemed to be the only one able to fight off some white monster things that looked like moving blankets, of the appearance of a girl named Kairi who seemed to be friends with Sora as well, and a man in black who had abducted her, and a strange cult in black coats that seemed to have caused quite the ruckus in town.

The very Sora had ended that situation, a few days before, entering the parallel Twilight Town, that had turned out to be a world within a computer, but after that they had had no news about his whereabouts.

«Hasn’t my father done anything about this?» Noctis asked, puzzled.

«We tried to tell the grown-ups. But we have no evidence…» The tallest boy, Hayner, who seemed almost the leader in Luna’s eyes, explained to Noctis’s group. «Pence even tried to take some pictures of the monsters, only for the negatives to disappear even before we could develop them… _we should_ be luckier now we were able to afford cell phones, but for how much this story stinks, I really don’t want to lose the phones too.»

«Then again, it’s been several days since we saw the last of them.» Olette admitted.

«Does this Sora happen to have a strange weapon?» Luna addressed the girl. «Like, some kind of sword looking like a key? And… are there more people like him?»

«… yeah…» Olette murmured.

«Yeah once and yeah twice. The King, too, has a sword like that. Or whatever Sora called him.» Pence added.

«And he disappeared without a trace?» Noctis asked the kids.

«Yeah, but a few hours after he left… the air became lighter. And the monsters disappeared.» Olette stated.

«And then appeared once again in the tunnel a couple days ago, but I’ll spare you the details.» Hayner crossed his arms. «Oh, and know what? _Seifer scrammed_! Something like a journey to become strong… he brought Rai and Fuu along, but Vivi is still in town.»

«Who knew why that fourth-grader always tagged along with the _Disciplinary Committee_.» Olette commented. «It’s as if he felt the need to hang out with older people. Now he’s trying to lend a hand at the new pub that got opened a few weeks ago. Like, cleaning up the floor, watering plants outside and the like. Comet isn’t too happy about it, but Vivi wants to be useful.»

«Who’s this Comet again?» Noctis didn’t seem to recognize the name.

«Pence mentioned them in his letter.» Prompto scratched his head. «They took over the ice cream stand from Ignis last year.»

«Nailed it!» Hayner smiled. «Now Iris is holding _that_ fort. Do you want to say her hi?»

«Wow… so much has changed…» Sora couldn’t help admitting. New places had been opened, now there was a girl slightly older than him at the ice cream stand, and the streets seemed more bustling with life than ever.

“ _You can say that. It’s almost as if we were in a different town._ ” Roxas commented, a hint of sadness in his voice. “ _What month is it? I’ve lost count of days._ ”

«It should be November, if I can recall.» Sora folded his arms behind his head. «Halloween was a few days ago after all.»

“ _Two months already_?” Had Roxas been in front of him, Sora would have sworn he’d have been visibly blue. “ _It feels so strange. Even thinking I’ve never actually been at school, but I felt I was getting ready to return there… and I was even loathing the idea, but now I’m actually wondering what it’d feel like._ ”

«You aren’t missing out on anything.» Sora tried to joke, but it probably wasn’t working at all. «I mean… it’s just _school_. There are more interesting things about living. Like, I don’t know, lighting a bonfire on the beach, stuffing your cheeks with marshmallows and trying to say “Fat Chocobo!”»

Donald whacked him on the arm.

«Do you even _realize_ how dangerous is that game?»

«Come on, Donald, you’re not my mother…» Sora rolled his eyes.

«I wish I had a munny for all the times I heard that from the triplets…»

While Sora and Donald discussed about the legitimacy of Fat Chocobo as a game, Goofy looked the other way. And he had a point: three kids were running away from something, while an older boy, right behind them, was holding some sort of gun. Sora thought that the older boy could be attacking the others, but when they turned around a corner, the situation became clearer: the boy was _defending_ the other three, and three more boys and a girl were attacking what looked like a huge, crawly mass of Shadows.

«Oh, _seriously_?» Sora grumbled, but he summoned his Keyblade and rushed to attack the swarm.

The five newcomers were armed and seemed able to fight – not counting the rocket-shooting gun thing the boy defending the kids had, a spectacled boy was throwing knives and small magical bombs, the biggest one had a broadsword, the only one with a hat had a sword and almost seemed to throw it only to teleport after it, and the girl had a sort of orange glowing spear – trident? – that she used along with some sort of portals in which she swallowed any Shadow coming too close to buildings or people.

It didn’t seem the first time those people saw Heartless, for how coordinated they were in fighting them, but they seemed tired. It had to be an opponent beyond their abilities.

«Need a hand over here?» Sora approached the boy with the hat, slashing at a couple of Heartless a little too close to him.

«Thanks!» Hat Boy raised his sword again and focused on other Shadows.

«And this is why we had to come back _now_!» The girl rushed to Hat Boy’s side and gave him a triumphal grin, then she opened another portal with a hand and let it swallow some of the Heartless.

On his side, Sora ripped to pieces every Heartless he could reach, but the dark tide only fell apart if someone hit the ball of Shadows that seemed to be leading the swarm.

After a while, the pack (assemblage? Flock?) of Heartless seemed to have grown tired, because they literally shot towards the sky and _vanished_.

The five youths who had fought the dark tide sighed in relief. The boy with the rocket gun skipped on the spot and hummed a victory theme.

«Now where did _that_ come from?»

«The question is, where did _you_!» One of the three younger kids raised his hands to his mouth and yelled at him, then he laughed… and Sora recognized Hayner.

«Sora’s back!» Pence exclaimed triumphally, and the three – Olette was there, too – rushed to him. They wore different, warmer clothes, and they had probably grown a little taller, but it was them, definitely them.

«It’s welcome back day, everyone.» Olette stopped in front of Sora.

«Friends of yours?» The rocket gun boy asked Pence.

«Oh, yeah.» Pence nodded. «Prompto, the boy in black’s named Sora. I told you about him. His two companions are named Donald and Goofy. Sora, Donald, Goofy, this is my brother Prompto and those are his friends.» He started pointing and saying names. «The one with the hat is Noctis… Ignis… Gladio… and that’s Luna. And the cockatoo flying above us is named Cookie.»

The parrot in question landed on Noctis’s hat and squawked: « _Heartless! Key! Hello!_ »

The boy named Noctis slapped his forehead under the baseball cap.

«I preferred him when he begged to be fed.»

«So does this mean that weird stuff’s going down again?» Pence immediately addressed Sora.

«You kidding, Pence? It’s not “weird”. This is underprecedented!» Hayner smacked his friend’s shoulder.

«Whatever it may be, the three of you should stop getting into trouble.» Gladio grabbed Hayner by the back of his jacket. He wasn’t lifting him up, but judging by his size he seemed more than able to do it. «Just don’t forget _who_ solved the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town.»

He let go of Hayner, who fixed his jacket and mumbled: «Yeah. _Noctis did_.» in a challenging tone.

«Whatever’s going on, you wouldn’t be here unless you had a good reason.» Olette recovered the thread of the argument.

«Well, actually,» Sora admitted. «We’re looking for a way to save Roxas.»

“ _Among the other things,_ ” Ventus pointed out. “ _By the way, Sora, you didn’t turn on Ienzo’s radar app. We’d better do it. The sooner we’re done with that, the sooner we can help Riku_.”

As the three kids debated on how familiar felt to them Roxas’s name, Sora pulled the phone out of his pocket and opened the radar app. Almost immediately, the device emitted a rather loud alert, and on the screen the words “LIGHT NEARBY” appeared.

Sora raised his phone to orient it on the source, and the acoustic signals became closer and closer to each other until they turned into a flat _beeeeeeeeeeep_ when the camera was pointed on Luna, the golden-haired girl who had been fighting with a light trident.

«Excuse me.» Sora lowered the telephone when he noticed the young woman staring. How could he explain her about Princesses of Heart without compromising somehow the world order?

«You’re a Keyblade wielder, aren’t you?» Luna asked him out of the blue. «My mentor told me to look for you. To look for your order.»

«More like a handful, I think.» Sora crossed his arms behind his head. «There’s this crazy Master who’s trying to end the worlds as we know them, we’re trying our very best to stop him, and I’m the one who’s been assigned the job to locate the Princesses of Heart to make sure the hoodlums in black don’t use them as some kind of human sacrifice.»

«Oh. I get it. _Not_.» Prompto ironically commented. «So what’s up with the beeping?»

«It means Luna is one of the girls I’m supposed to keep an eye on.» Sora concluded. It was easier to explain things knowing the person concerned had an idea of what was happening.

«I can take care of myself, thanks a lot.» Luna grinned, then she turned thoughtful again. «You mentioned someone named Roxas. Who are they?»

Sora stuck a hand in his pocket and recovered the picture Riku had left him when Maleficent had “rescued” them by sending them in the Dark Realm. Hayner, Olette, Pence and Roxas were smiling at the camera, wearing swimwear and standing on a beach.

The kids surrounded him, and Prompto was the first to say something.

«No way!» He objected. «I took that picture, the summer before we left, and I’m quite sure they were posing in three… what is that, a fake?»

«More like a copy.» Pence corrected him, pulling out the real picture, in which only three kids were posing. «It’s not the first time we see a copy of our things… this is from the Other Twilight Town, isn’t it, Sora?»

«Feels like we know him.» Hayner commented. «I guess in the other Twilight Town… he’s our friend as well?»

“ _They remember?_ ” There almost was a quaver in Roxas’s voice, but it didn’t seem he wanted to take over to talk to _them_. Even if Sora thought that, maybe, he should have done it.

«He seems like a pretty cool guy. How can we help?» Hayner asked Sora.

«Any proof he existed would do.» Sora ran a hand through his hair.

«We could ask around town.» Pence speculated. «We can’t be the only ones who remember him. In the other Twilight Town… he must have had friends… or we could ask the teachers, considering he’s our age so he probably attended school… and what about family?»

Olette thought about something for a moment, then she spoke. «Sora, if this is about the other Twilight Town again, maybe you should go back to the old villa. If the portal is still there, it’s a good place to start.»

«We’ll go with them.» Luna took initiative. «See you kids there?»

«Of course we will!» Pence waved them goodbye as the three kids ran off.

«Careful with the teachers!» Prompto addressed his brother.

Noctis took the lead and led them through the marketplace until a point in the wall where Sora remembered there had been a hole leading to the woods. It seemed to have been closed recently, but Noctis found another way through an underground passage.

«This story about the other Twilight Town reminds me of something my mentor told me right after I met Noctis.» Luna told Sora, while the noise of their steps echoed in the underground tunnel. «Whoever created the other Twilight Town might know a thing or two about parallel timelines and Fulcra.»

«Say what?» Sora folded his arms behind his head.

«It’s quite a complicated matter. But if you really are a Keyblade wielder, it’s stuff you’d have a right to know. World order stuff.» Luna kept walking. «To keep it in simple words, there’s a you, right here and right now, talking to me and trying to make sense of what I’m saying. There could be another you who never became a Keyblade wielder. Or that hasn’t achieved the rank you’re at right now, or never met me and Noctis. A “you” fighting on the villains’ side, one that helped a _prince_ Noctis defeat an usurper who’s turning people into mindless demons, or… a “you” who gets recruited by Yakuza after being orphaned? The possibilities are infinite. The timelines are infinite. And all these Sora are more or less close to _you_ here and now, and we could call the closest ones Fulcra, and the farthest ones Spatia. Moreover, in a single timeline there could be a Fulcrum for you, but a Spatium for someone else. For example… let’s say there’s a timeline in which you’re a werecat and you’re friends with the owner of that bar we passed earlier, and it’d be still a Fulcrum to you because you’d be still a Keyblade wielder and you’d be trying to help Roxas regain his own life, but Noctis’s father wouldn’t be the mayor and Prompto and Pence wouldn’t have been adopted by the same parents. Spatium. Or you could have already found and saved Roxas in a different timeline… and that’d be a Spatium for both you and him. _But_ you’d have probably still met Noctis and his friends fighting that demon tide. There are infinite possibilities, like I said, and sometimes it can happen that a Fulcrum might _feel_ something different that happened to their other self in another timeline. And now the same thing is happening to Hayner, Olette, and Pence, but in an _artificial_ way.»

«Still not quite clear to me.» Sora shrugged.

«Maybe my mentor could explain it in a better way. But we don’t have time to go pay him a visit.» Luna looked down. «Now, about the Princesses of Heart. What can you tell me about them?»

Sora told her about the imminent showdown between the Thirteen Darknesses and Seven Lights. He told them all about Kairi, of how he was looking for the other six and about his almost certainty Luna was the second one. That the other five could have been _anywhere_ and Xehanort absolutely couldn’t put his hands on them.

He also told them about Riku, Lea, Mickey, and the lost guardians Terra, Aqua and Ventus. And of how Roxas could have become a guardian as well, had he been freed, and about little Shiro and of how the Darknesses had almost taken and used her as a tool.

Crossing the grove took them more time than it would have usually taken – there was a rat gathering fruit, and he had been attacked by Powerwilds – but Sora had the time to finish his tale before they arrived at the gates of the mansion.

«Ugh. What a _horrible_ human being, that Xehanort.» Prompto stated, disgusted, once they were inside the courtyard. «Raising a _child_ to grow up as a weapon? If _that_ ain’t messed up, I don’t know what is.»

«Is it me, or this place just got creepier since we left?» Noctis walked ahead with a confident step, his voice and grin saying the opposite of his words. He almost looked amused. He turned to Sora and Luna.

«Prompto and I were, like, fourteen or something when we snuck in here to see if the legends about ghosts were true.»

«And?» Luna asked him.

«Nothing but dust and debris.» Prompto walked ahead, grabbed the door handle and pulled to open.

They were about to get inside when Hayner, Pence, and Olette rushed in the courtyard.

«The asking around thing was a total bust.» Pence admitted, looking defeated and short of breath. «Principal Jones at school, Iris, Vivi, the shopkeepers… no one remembers someone named Roxas. He just doesn’t exist… nothing in the school registry, nor in any records like the library or whatsoever… but asking about people that seem to come out of nowhere… Vivi mentioned meeting a girl named Shiro in the streets sometimes, during last year. And of people wearing peculiar clothes… and actually, Hayner, do you remember that time you accused me of thinking we were in Scary Things? This _really_ feels like the disappearance of Fourteen at the end of part 1…»

«Shiro is fine, aw-yuck. She’s in good hands.» Goofy stated.

«This old mansion is our last hope now.» Olette commented.

«So, what are we waiting for? Prompto said there was nothing but dust and debris…» Hayner leapt to the door, but Donald stopped him with magic.

«He said there _was_ nothing but dust and debris.» The duck emphasized the boy’s last sentence.

* * *

Ienzo had been sitting at the computer for _hours_.

He didn’t seem to be willing to look away from the screen, and Dilan had taken him a couple sandwiches already, but he had barely stopped working on a long list of data and files he had reorganized and classified from the memory of the computer.

«This should be just enough for Zack.» Ienzo explained to Shiro once he was done. «We can bring him back as soon as we have a Replica. It’s going to be much harder for Roxas.»

There were descriptions of the boy’s physical appearance – black hair, blue eyes, scars… there were medical reports, the bill for a root canal, vaccinations. The schools he had attended, his report cards, a list of his closest relatives.

Shiro understood why it’d be harder for Roxas… Zack’s file was even _packed_ with photographs. Class pictures, photos from the city watch, there even was a 3D scan… the evidence Zack Fair had existed, attended a school, had loved and labored and worked… it all was there, in that computer, ready for his life to be restored.

Roxas did not have that privilege.

«You see, Shiro, to exist is a complicated thing.» Ienzo closed Zack’s file and opened another. Shiro recognized _her_ name – very few documents, a picture of her aged one, with a filthy onesie and missing locks of hair, reports of medical exams, a couple more photographs, incomplete paperwork on the possibility of attending a local daycare… «You and I know that Roxas existed. We did meet him and lived with him for a period. But, for Radiant Garden and almost all the other worlds, Roxas never existed and should have never existed. All we had of him vanished along with the World That Never Was.» He looked down, embittered. «Master Ansem always said that memories and words are volatile, and only what is written remains. Now I start understanding why he kept saying that.»

He really looked sad.

«We have _nothing_. No pictures of his face. We don’t know how tall he is, his shoe size, a description of his behavior, we could copy Sora’s data for his size charts but what if they don’t even match? I say, they don’t even have the _same hair color_!»

«Ienzo, I…»

She didn’t want to part herself with her belongings. But if that could mean Roxas returning… she had the picture the Genie had taken. She had her diary, in which she had mentioned Roxas and his behavior and the days they had shared several times.

She opened her bag and searched its contents. Saïx had recommended her to bring most of her treasured belongings when she and Axel had been sent to recover Roxas in the Other Twilight Town, like her training sword and Mr. Kupo. He had told her that maybe those items would have jogged Roxas’s memory. The diary was there, the Genie’s picture stuck between two pages.

«How did you…?» Ienzo’s eyes were open wide. «I thought all reports were at the Castle…»

«Saïx ordered me to bring it along when he assigned me my first mission. In that mission, Riku took me away with everything I had.» Shiro put the diary in Ienzo’s hands. Ienzo opened the notebook and started flipping the pages, then he closed it, typed some commands on the computer and put the diary under some sort of projector.

«Nines, I need you to scan me these notes and… oh, there’s a picture. Who took it? It’s half ruined…»

He removed the picture and the scanner emitted a light, as the pages kept turning themselves on their own and a wall of text appeared on the computer screen. As soon as the text stopped appearing, Ienzo scanned the picture, too.

«Is Roxas’s face visible, you two?»

«Affirmative!» Nines’s voice came from the speakers, followed by Ate’s: «Yo!»

«Well, that’s a start.» Ienzo allowed himself to smile, then he spoke to the programs again. «Do you think we could put something together, starting from these data?»

«Something.» Nines’s voice wasn’t too optimistic, but _something_ was always better than _nothing_. «But… Ienzo, there’s something _wrong_ in these memoirs. There are missing sentences in the pages, not to mention whole _blank_ pages. What’s more, the gaps are not coherent, almost as if…»

«As if someone had erased a world from the maps but there still was the gravity around?» Ate’s voice interrupted Nines.

«As if I forgot something and so did the diary?» Shiro made her own hypothesis.

«It also seems most of the missing pieces are actually after Castle Oblivion.» Ienzo took the diary in his hands and started browsing through the pages. «I can’t even help you remember.» He closed the diary.

«Mr. Ienzo, sir, it’s because someone erased it!» Ate intervened again. «Maybe the bad guys don’t want us to find out about a secret clone army ordered by the big bad himself!»

Ienzo’s face turned ashen.

«The Replica Project!» He accidentally smacked the keyboard, and both Ate and Nines protested. «Vexen took one of his test subjects to the Castle after Roxas arrived. Not the Riku replica… another one. And I don’t see it mentioned, _not at all_.» He put the diary down on the desk. «But I do remember how nosy you were. It was almost impossible to keep a secret from you. You probably found out something, and now…» He clenched a fist.

“ _And now we’re in hot water._ ” Ephemer commented, breaking the silence. “ _And the worst part is that I don’t remember anything either! And assuming it’s really about a Replica… who were they? And_ whose _were they? Could they fight? Why don’t we know anything about them? Without memories or data, it’s as if they didn’t exist at all!_ ”

«And now it’s as if they didn’t exist at all.» Shiro repeated out loud Ephemer’s last sentence.

«Which could be good on certain aspects. Such a radical oblivion could mean not even the Organization remembers. Probably it’s Naminé’s doing, and she did it to help.» Ienzo murmured.

Shiro did not answer. She only had vague memories of Naminé – she had considered her to be too detached to even try to befriend her. Roxas had been different, Axel had actually encouraged them to be friends and… _had there been someone else, along with Roxas_?

Aerith had taught Shiro to fly a kite in the days before school had begun. Shiro in that moment felt just like if she had lost a kite, but the snapped string was still in her hands.

«It’s no use to dwell on it like this. You won’t solve anything by ruminating on your own.» Ienzo put a hand on her shoulder, then he stood up and walked to a shelf. «Still, I’ll need to hold on your memoirs for a while. Maybe with further analysis we might find out what vanished.» He grabbed another notebook and put it in Shiro’s hands. «On the other hand, it’s time for you to have a new one. Once Even’s back, I will respond of the missing paper. It’s fine.»

Shiro took the notebook and looked in Ienzo’s eyes. He had _never_ been close to her in all those years. As a child first and then as a Nobody, his first interest had been his studies… or maybe so it had seemed to her. Or he had just been a kid, and she couldn’t really blame him for that… a little one like Finn maybe could have said just the same about her and her Keyblade. She was the age Ienzo had been when everything had happened…

«You were not the only orphan taken in by Lord Ansem.» Ienzo hinted at a smile. «With another ruler, we would have been raised as siblings.»

Shiro smiled and put the notebook in her bag. She was about to say thanks when Ate’s voice echoed in the room.

«YO! Ienzo! Someone’s trying to log in!» The program was almost yelling. His picture on the screen was jumping up and down in agitation.

Ienzo and Shiro rushed back to the computer screen.

«Can you see who it is?» Ienzo immediately asked. «Where is that terminal?»

«In another world.» It was Nines who replied. «The server name is Twilight Town. I can try taking over a video camera.»

«It could be the abandoned mansion…» Shiro realized. «Wait a minute, Sora is in Twilight Town. We could give him a call!»

Ienzo fished the telephone out of his pocket and dialed a number. The phone gave a couple of beeps, then Sora opened the call. Judging by the bustle on the other side, he was not alone.

He had not booted up the computer himself, but someone in the room had done it: two local brothers of which the younger, Pence, was a friend of Sora’s. Shiro remembered the boy’s name: in the other Twilight Town, his double had been friends with Roxas.

«We were able to log in, but we haven’t been granted access to the digital town.» Pence explained to Ienzo through the calling app. «Can you do something on your side?»

«I’ll get Ate and Nines to work on it, they should be able to set up a proper and stable network» Ienzo replied to Pence, then he addressed the two computer programs. «Use Sora’s phone as a bridge if you deem it necessary. The Gummiphone network isn’t just to help Users.»

«Is Even still gone?» Sora’s face invaded the phone screen.

Ienzo nodded, then he addressed Pence again.

«I need someone to man the computer until the network gets stabilized. You seem to know your stuff, can I trust you?» He asked the boy.

Pence mumbled something about a part-time job he was supposed to do in moments, but another boy’s voice reassured him he’d cover for him.

«We’re gonna need some cash to go to the beach. Also, don’t forget the pretzels. With Roxas back, gotta buy four now.»

Shiro remembered the “friends” Roxas had made in the other Twilight Town. She still remembered when Roxas, their friendship forgotten, had actually invited her to join the group. The _real_ Pence and his friends had never really met Roxas, unless one counted the times they had glimpsed at him or mistaken him for a ghost or a tourist, yet now Pence was renouncing to his work day – taking a risk – to help bring Roxas back, just like Shiro who had given up her old diary.

Maybe, had she restarted watching over Finn… or maybe hunting for Shadows in the townspeople’s cellars… would there be a place for her, too, at that beach?

«We could do better than that.» Sora intervened. «At my place there’s one of the best beaches ever. We all could go there. Once it’s all over.»

Hayner was about to leave, but Shiro saw him stopping from the screen – so did the girl, Olette (was that her name, again?)

«I have the feeling many people will have something to celebrate.» Sora took a breath and said. His grin on the screen looked almost sad, as if he knew something, as if he knew there was still someone waiting to be recognized and rescued.

«Well, we’d better go.» He concluded. «The worlds won’t save themselves.»

The screen of the phone turned black once again.

«I think he feels it, too.» Ienzo immediately commented. «Something’s amiss. Someone’s missing. We have to work on that, too.»

He picked up Shiro’s diary once again and started browsing the blank pages.

«You did _not_ use lemon juice as ink, did you?» He looked up at her.

«Nope.» Shiro immediately answered.

«Can you go to Merlin’s and make Kairi come here? Naminé probably has answers, and I don’t know if we’ll be able to talk to her, but it’s worth a try.» The scholar took a glance at the computer once again, while Ate and Nines were still connecting the network.

Shiro walked towards the door and waved Ienzo goodbye, but the youth hardly paid attention to her. He was bent on one of the pages of the diary, his face shadowed and – what little Shiro could see – twisted with concern.

Whatever was that mystery, he surely was committed to solve it.

«This will be quite the run in the dark…»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think some of you might recognize the alternate timelines Luna mentioned. Heh heh heh.   
> Okay...   
> \- the one in which she says "you never became a Keyblade wielder" is all the AUs in which Sora is an ordinary boy.  
> \- "... that hasn't achieved the rank you're at right now" is the canon, in which Sora never became a Master.  
> \- "fighting on the villains' side", "recruited by Yakuza", 'nuff said, remember Charlieco?  
> \- "Helped a prince Noctis defeat an usurper" - Destiny Islanders's comics  
> \- "You're friends with the owner of that bar" - I think a couple readers might recognize their own story!
> 
> "You could have already found and saved Roxas but you'd have met Noctis" was actually the early draft of our story, written before KH3, in which Ventus, Roxas and Xion had already been saved, and Sora wanted to investigate the Old Mansion to find some clues about the Foretellers. That plot was aborted, but several others have been kept.


	3. Like A Million Lanterns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "This could be a good spot to find some ingredients..."

The passing of days felt strange with Merlin’s training. Kairi woke up every day, met with Lea at the wizard’s place, they entered the forest of time and it seemed they spent two days training but it was just a morning before Shiro came grumbling about her school day, handed over a couple sandwiches for lunch, and summoned her Keyblade to join the practice. Then two more days seemed to go by, then Merlin called them for dinner, and after dinner, Kairi helped Shiro with her homework. Sometimes, Ienzo called Shiro in the middle of the training, and the child left them and went to help the scientist gathering data.

It was some kind of routine after all, for how strange it was. It was an almost pleasant interruption when one evening, as Lea and Kairi were about to sit at the dinner table, someone knocked on the door and Sora, Donald and Goofy entered the room.

«I’m officially dead tired!» the boy burst out, throwing himself on an empty chair. Merlin had probably foreseen his arrival, because he had set the table for five, and the bowl at the center of the round table, which seemed to have a mind of its own like almost all of the pottery in the house, grabbed a big fork and filled his plate with spaghetti and meatballs. Sora peeked up at the smell of food, then he almost automatically grabbed his fork and stuffed his face like a rodent.

(Donald angrily protested at his manners before he and Goofy could sit themselves.)

«We found Xehanort in the world we went to.» Sora caught his breath and spoke after a couple mouthfuls of pasta. «He literally kidnapped a child’s toys… he wanted to study the bonds between hearts, he said… and he did it there because toys are actually alive.»

«Toys?» Lea almost choked on a meatball. «You mean that, so to say, Mr. Kupo would be walking and talking over there?»

«And he’d remember both Zack and Shiro, probably. The toys I’ve met were _incredibly_ fond of their kid.» Sora swallowed another mouthful.

He quickly finished eating, then he pushed away his plate, pulled the phone from his pocket, and opened the messaging app.

«Any news from Riku?» Sora looked up and asked Kairi. He seemed visibly worried.

«I doubt the reception in the Dark Realm is good enough.» Lea joked before Kairi could reply that _no_ , Riku had neither called nor visited lately.

Sora stayed quiet for a few moments, then he moved his chair to approach Kairi, he opened the calling app and started a call to his friend’s number.

The device rang a couple of times, then the call was opened on the other side.

«Hello… Sora?» On the other side of the screen, Riku was visibly dirty and exhausted, but he smiled when he saw who he was talking to. «Why are you with Kairi? You’re supposed to be on a mission, you lazy bum!»

«Yeah, I know, I’m just spending the night here so Ienzo can put a radar on my ship.» Sora answered with a lazy grin. «Any good news?»

Riku shook his head, and the smirk melted off his face.

«According to the King, much of this world has changed since we left. We lost many landmarks when the door was closed, and we don’t know where could have Aqua taken shelter.»

«Oh.» Sora said nothing else. Kairi put a hand on his shoulder. She didn’t know if that moment of dejection was really his own, but knowing him it could be. When Sora was down in the dumps, it was for his own business _and_ for other people’s business.

They spent some time making small talk, at least until Donald and Goofy asked them if they could talk to King Mickey. Kairi still couldn’t think of what Riku had wanted to tell them the morning he had left, but the boy didn’t seem to be willing to talk about that, not in that moment.

«You owe me a hug. When I see you again.» Sora almost grumbled when Riku told him he had to hang up. Riku chuckled and waved them goodbye, and the screen turned black again.

«He’ll be fine. You know it.» Kairi put a hand on Sora’s back. The boy was still staring at the blank screen of his phone.

«I should be over there, helping him.» Sora told her. «I’m _happy_ to be with you here and now, but I miss him too. Just like I missed you a few hours ago.»

«Come on, Sora. Think of all the people hurting in this moment.» Donald reassured him. «They’re all counting on us!»

«Donald is right, aw-yuk. Think of when it’ll all be over. How happy will everyone be to be home.» Goofy added.

Sora looked up at the two and smiled. On the other side of the table, Lea turned and stared at the wall. Kairi gave him a glance… he was probably thinking about Roxas, or Isa.

She and Sora were lucky… Riku at least was one phone call away.

«Okay, y’all, I think I’ll just go to bed.» It was at that point Lea pushed away his chair and walked towards the door. «Good night, sleep tight, and don’t let the Heartless bite.»

He opened the door, got outside and closed it after himself. Kairi couldn’t help snorting.

«He’s still wearing that coat.» Was Sora’s first comment. «Why doesn’t he throw it away already?»

«If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, he said.» Kairi shook her head. «He acts so much like a clown, but then he gets all serious and he _never_ says what he’s really thinking.»

«There’s something wrong.» Sora stayed serious. «Roxas agrees with me, too. And Shiro mentioned me on the phone. Looks like we have someone else to save… probably a friend of Shiro’s, considering all the pages disappeared from her diary.»

«Do you think that could explain Lea’s behavior?» Kairi asked him. Some days before, Ienzo and Shiro had mentioned that to her, too, trying to recruit Naminé for help, but the other girl almost seemed deaf to their questions. (“Maybe we’d better leave her alone,” Ephemer had said through Shiro’s voice. “You can’t break a person to save another.”)

«There could be many reasons. He’s missing Roxas. Saïx, too. And that Zack boy Ienzo is trying to bring back used to be one of his best friends as well.» Sora shrugged. « _Their hurt will be mended when you return to end it_. I’m feeling a little useless, playing on the sidelines.»

«Well, you’re doing something, at least. In these days I feel like even Shiro is doing more stuff than Lea and I are, helping Ienzo with his research.»

After that sentence, Sora was quick to apologize and change the topic of conversation, and started talking to Kairi about the only new Princess of Heart he had already met, a young woman named Luna, apprentice of the Mystical Arts, who had left her medicine studies in a city named New York to help the son of the mayor of Twilight Town to solve the Heartless problem. He almost started laughing when he mentioned a sort of story Luna had told him about parallel universes and alternate timelines.

«If I only think there’s a me somewhere that was actually caught by Xehanort… _brrr_. I’m worried about the other you… how you’d take it.»

«Just think of something else.» Kairi ran a hand through his hair. «If all of this is true, somewhere in the timelines, there are _other us_ that already won.»

* * *

The morning after, Sora, Donald and Goofy showed up early at the hangar only to find the radar already mounted and functioning.

They had already said Kairi and Lea goodbye (Lea was still sour even after a night’s sleep), and they would have waken up Shiro, but Ienzo had stated it was not a good idea – it wasn’t a school day for her, and the girl had remained in her castle until late at night trying to solve the mystery of her lost memories with Ate and Nines.

«I found her sleeping on the desk when I finished calibrating the radar.» Ienzo had an embarrassed grin on his face. «Dilan carried her in her old nursery. I don’t think she’ll wake up so soon.»

«Thanks for everything, Ienzo.» Sora grinned in return. «I really hope this can make the search go faster.»

«I don’t think I would have gotten results so soon if you hadn’t met that Luna girl in Twilight Town. Anyway, good luck, Sora.»

«To you as well!» Sora stepped on the ramp and waved Ienzo goodbye as the ramp lifted itself. «May your heart be your guiding key!»

The signal led them to a world that was, in space, diametrically opposite to the direction they had come from. It was a quick journey and nothing stood in their way, and when they disembarked, they were welcomed by warm sunlight, filtering through the leaves of a sparse forest to illuminate a lawn that almost seemed cultivated.

It felt like walking in a painting.

Hadn’t they been there to find and rescue one of the New Seven Hearts, it would have been a perfect day for a walk and a picnic. Sora had hardly begun _thinking_ about it, when a young man in a turquoise vest, dark pants and leather boots crossed the clearing, pursued by strange Heartless that looked like dandelion seeds.

The man hid behind a rock, and Sora quickly summoned his Keyblade and took care of the closest monster. The stranger sighed in relief.

«Say, since you three seem to know what you’re doing, mind if I leave this one to you?»

«Yup, we’ll take care of them.» Sora turned towards the man. In front of him, the remaining Heartless were backing away from the Keyblade. «Go on, skedaddle!»

«You have my thanks. Name’s Flynn. Flynn Rider.» The man told them before vanishing in the underbrush.

The presence of Heartless in that area said a lot about the fact they were close to the person they were looking for: ever since Sora had met those monsters, they were drawn to light like bugs to a lamp. Unluckily for them, Sora and his Keyblade were their bug zapper.

Flynn Rider had skedaddled like Sora had suggested him to do, but the direction he had taken seemed a dead end. Useful as it would have been the help of a local in their search – a Princess of Heart had _never_ gone unnoticed in her home world, by Sora’s experience – it was not the time to look for him.

Sora pulled the phone from his pocket and opened the radar app. The light they were looking for was close… but the direction was the same dead end in which Flynn seemed to have vanished.

«Okay, this is new.» Sora scratched his head. In front of them there only was a rock wall covered in vines.

«He couldn’t have come this way.» Donald said, looking around.

«But Ienzo’s app doesn’t lie…» Sora tried to put a hand on the wall in front of him, covered in greenery. Beyond the vines… his hand met only air.

_What_?

He stuck the phone in his pocket, then he used his other hand to move some of the vines. There was a _gallery_! The plants were hiding a cavern!

«This way, guys!» Sora moved enough vines to show Donald and Goofy the way, then he walked into the cavern.

It didn’t seem very long… he already could see a way out, and the exit led to a clearing, a sort of hollow in which a waterfall formed a small lake. In the center of the hollow there was a tower.

The signal _had to_ come from there.

«I suppose we could find a door and knock, right?» Goofy looked at the tower. «Sora, are you sure the signal’s coming from there?»

Sora pulled out his phone again. The radar still kept beeping. _They were close indeed._ Then, without any warning, the device started ringing and the screen showed Kairi’s name.

Without thinking, Sora opened the call. Kairi was in the computer room of the castle, Lea just behind her, and they both looked very worried.

«Sora, Shiro is gone again.» Kairi immediately said.

«We asked Ate and Nines if they saw her.» Lea pointed at the computer. «Nothing. Yesterday she spent half the night in front of the computer, analyzing her old diary. Then Dilan took her to bed. No one has seen her since then. The cameras found nothing suspicious… no intruder at least, or Dark Corridors.»

«That’s not what you should look for! What if she went out _on her own_?» Donald replied angrily. «When Dewey was little, he kept doing that!»

«Well, the outside cameras didn’t spot her, either.» Lea shook his head. «And the only people who left this world lately are…»

«Oh, _crap_.» Kairi finished his sentence.

It didn’t take Sora long to understand. They had parked their Gummiship in the castle hangar, and that could only mean…

“ _… she stowed away in our ship. Aaargh!_ ” Ventus came to the answer before him. “ _Sora, we have to get back before she wanders away._ ”

«But what about…?» Sora was about to protest, but in that moment Flynn climbed out of the only window in the tower and started climbing down the wall using two bolts as climbing irons. Sora glanced at his phone again. «Maybe we know where Shiro is. I’ll call you later!»

He looked up again.

«Hey, Flynn! Is there anyone up there?» he yelled at the man. Flynn climbed down a little more, looked at him, then up at the window.

«You coming, Blondie?» he asked to whoever was in the tower. A moment later, what looked like a thick golden rope fell from the window, and a girl climbed down it.

_Wait a sec._ That was no rope, it was her hair!

The girl remained hanging for a moment, a few inches away from the ground – _how could she do that? It was her own hair… and how long was that…?_ – and she finally touched the grass with her bare feet, knelt on it, ran her hands through it and _laid down on the lawn._

It almost seemed she had never touched grass before.

Flynn cautiously finished climbing down and immediately seemed relieved to see Sora.

«Guys! You’re here, and just in time!» He was grinning a little too widely for someone who had just escaped the Heartless. He pointed at the girl, who had just stepped into the lake. «That would be Rapunzel. Something tells me this could be her first time outdoors. Give her a few minutes to get used to it.»

«Let’s make it quick. We lost a friend in the woods, and I must run back and find her before she gets _really_ lost.» Sora turned serious. He wouldn’t show Flynn the Gummiship, but they had to get back there as soon as possible.

«I think Rapunzel’s heading that way!» Flynn pointed at the girl, who had started running towards the cave. «So that’s four of you? And you mentioned a girl… does she have a weapon, too?»

«You mean Shiro?» Sora asked him as they ran after Rapunzel. It was rather easy to run after her, they only had to follow the hair. «Yeah… she’s got a sword like mine.»

«Good!» Flynn happily exclaimed. «The more, the merrier!»

“ _This guy is nuts,_ ” Roxas grumbled in Sora’s head.

Rapunzel’s hair was no longer dragging on the ground, which meant the girl had stopped. The reason was clear to Sora and Flynn when they exited the cave: there was a row of Flans, a harmless kind of Heartless Sora had already met in Thebes and at Galaxy Toys. It almost seemed they were in some kind of formation for who knew what… _no, wait, they were posing_. As if someone was about to take a picture of them…

«You on the left! Come on, you’re too far from the others! How many more times do I have to tell you? If you want to appear in the picture you _have to_ stay close!» Shiro was in front of them, her cellphone raised, ready to take a picture.

Sora moved without wanting to, with a concern in his heart that almost seemed the triple of what he actually felt.

«What are you doing out here?» Ventus made him say. «You could have gotten kidnapped again!»

Shiro put her hands on her hips and gave Sora, Donald and Goofy a challenging look.

«I only came here to help… after all if I help you, you can go with Riku and look for Mom…» She took a breath, as if she was thinking about what to say. «There’s nothing more I can do to help Ienzo, Ate and Nines can take care of that.»

Sora slapped his forehead. “ _That’s Terra all over again._ ” Ventus commented. “ _I say we bring her back to Aerith before anything else can happen._ ”

«You’re not helping like this, Shiro.» Sora tried to act as the responsible Master. «We should bring you back to Aerith, you know?»

Flynn silently approached them and stared Shiro down.

«You call _this_ a sword fighter? You didn’t tell me she was a _kid_!»

Shiro glared at him. «I’m no kid, I’m almost thirteen years old!» She addressed Sora again. «I won’t make a mess. I promise… and I can’t get into trouble if I’m with you guys, right? And if I can help you, you might actually find out if I’m good enough!»

«What if we meet a Darkness?» Sora rolled his eyes. He had already met them in every single world he had been to, Xigbar in Olympus, Ansem and Xemnas in Twilight Town, and the Xehanort from the past in the world of toys. With his luck, there had to be Vanitas or someone else lurking in _that_ world. And Vanitas could have passed off as him and Shiro _wouldn’t know_ because she didn’t know what he looked like.

«You’re twelve and they let you outside?»

Rapunzel, that until then had been staring at the Flans, seemed to notice the child in that very moment.

«Let’s just say she _kinda_ trespassed her limits. Twice in a couple weeks.» Sora scratched his neck. «And the first one we had to pull her outta hot waters.»

«I say you should give her a chance.» Flynn intervened. «After all, people do learn from mistakes.»

«Please, Sora, _please_. I bet Mom would be okay with this.» Shiro insisted.

“ _She wishes_.” Ventus commented in a sarcastic tone, then took control of Sora’s voice. «Your mother would have probably taken you home by force.»

«But Mom isn’t here right now and I’d probably be here with her if it wasn’t…» The child lowered her head and looked down. She was probably about to run out of points, but Sora felt a little guilty for scolding her. On the other hand, he had been only a year older than her when he had ended up in that war _alone_. He almost felt like a hypocrite.

“ _Sora, you were even lucky. Now things are even worse than they were…_ ” Ventus tried to reason with him.

“ _Lucky, you say? I do exist, heh._ ” Roxas replied.

“ _Point. He still was lucky!_ ” It wasn’t clear if Ventus was more amused or sarcastic.

«I want to help…» Shiro exploited the silence to uphold her cause once more. «I just want to help…»

Their argument seemed to have had some unexpected effects, because Rapunzel had sat down on a rock, staring at her toes. She had probably noticed she had just done something she wasn’t supposed to, because she was murmuring to herself she was a horrible person and a despicable human being and she wanted to go back. She was on the edge of tears when Flynn approached her.

«You know, I can't help but notice, you seem a little at war with yourself, here. Sort of protective mother, forbidden road trip. This is serious stuff.»

“ _Shut your trap, Rider. We’re trying to get Shiro home._ ” Ventus commented, more and more frustrated by the minute.

«This is part of growing up. A little rebellion, a little adventure. That's good, healthy even.» The young man went on with a smile on his face.

“ _Unless the story doesn’t end well_ …” Ventus seemed to be about to lose his patience.

«What’s the problem again?» Shiro stepped between the two.

Rapunzel looked up.

«Well… I always lived alone in a tower. With… Mother… and Pascal.» As the girl explained, a small green chameleon climbed on her shoulder. «According to Mother, the world outside is dangerous. For me, at least. But every year on my birthday, floating lights rise up in the sky…»

«Lanterns.» Rider pointed out.

«… that according to him are the lanterns in memory of the lost princess of the nearby kingdom. They’re the greatest sight ever, believe me… what’s your name again?»

«Shiro.» Now she was outside of Sora’s reproaching look, the girl seemed relieved. Sora remembered that, apart from Aerith and Kairi, Shiro didn’t really hang out with many girls.

«Nice to meet you. I’m Rapunzel. I’ll be eighteen tomorrow.»

«I’ll be thirteen next month… probably.» Shiro said in an embarrassed tone. «They didn’t really know my birthday where I grew up… and probably didn’t care. Father… he wasn’t even my real dad after all…» She started messing with the hem of her vest. «He kept me closed in a castle, as well. He only let me out about once or twice, to take and bring there the boy who’d become my best friend.» Shiro sat on the rock close to Rapunzel and looked aside at Sora. «Father was always distant with me. He’d never listen. I only found out some time ago he had kidnapped me and trapped my real parents. I was never really happy with him, even if he tried to convince me that I was… I wanted my friends. Maybe… I could be happy with Sora and his friends now. But we’re looking for my parents… and I want to do my best to find them.»

Sora could have sworn he had seen Rapunzel furrowing her eyebrows when Shiro said “I was never really happy”, but that could have been a coincidence. He had heard way too many times Riku complaining about his strict parents to see a villain in every austere adult.

“ _My master, too, didn’t want me to leave our world, but considering the Darknesses actually managed to lure me into a trap… I won’t say he had a point, but…_ ” Ventus briefly commented. “ _Sora, you should tell Kairi and Lea that Shiro is safe._ ”

«What, aren’t we going back?» Sora scratched his head.

“ _I’d tell you to do that, in normal circumstances. But if we’re supposed to keep an eye on Rapunzel, it could take too much to find her again if we leave now._ ”

Sora sighed, pulled the phone out of his pocket, and sent a message to Kairi telling her that Shiro was with him, but they could not immediately return her to Radiant Garden. Kairi’s reply came with a worried emoji, but Sora quickly answered her it was going to be OK.

“ _I would have never imagined I’d play the responsible adult when I’m not even a Master yet._ ” Ventus commented as they started their trek towards the city. “ _Please… nobody tell Aqua._ ”

Sora couldn’t help bursting into laughter when Roxas replied: “ _FINE BY ME_ ”.

The day went by with _almost_ no issue – at least for Sora, Donald, Goofy and Shiro. Flynn made them “rest” in an inn where a bunch of thugs almost tried to give him away to the royal guards for money. He was actually planning to scare Rapunzel so she would give up on her journey, but that girl had quickly turned the situation in her favor by sharing her dreams with the gang, leading them to share their own with her. Then, their party had resumed their march through a secret passageway under the tavern, only to meet the guards _again_ once they were outside again, a horse had broken a dam, and while Sora, Donald, Goofy and Shiro had managed to summon a raft and get to safety, Rapunzel and Flynn had almost gotten trapped into a cave, and the latter had wounded his hand while digging a way out.

They had regrouped by the river, and while Sora and Shiro had gone to find some wood to start a fire, Rapunzel had started taking care of Flynn’s hand. Or, well, she had started calling him Eugene, which Flynn admitted to be his real name when Sora gave him a rather puzzled look.

When they came back, _Eugene_ ’s hand seemed to have never been hurt, he was staring at Rapunzel, and trying to hold back a scream.

«First time seeing a Cura, Eugene?» Shiro dropped the branches she had been carrying and tried her best to put them in a heap. Sora let her mess it up just four or five times before intervening and fixing the wood in the correct way, slowly and surely so that Shiro could see how it was done.

«A what?» Eugene looked at Shiro, more confused than ever.

«Healing magic. I thought that was a Cura, at least. Kairi was practicing it yesterday… you know, my friend.» Shiro tried to explain while Sora finished preparing the kindling. «I’m not as good as her, my best is mostly… this.»

She raised both hands in front of herself, and a small flame appeared on the heap of wood.

Eugene gasped again.

«Well, why so surprised? She used it all day with the Heartless!» Donald sat on a rock.

«Oh, right. So, what’s up with the Heartless?» Rapunzel asked while Sora stoked at the fire with one of the longest branches he had probably left out of the heap on purpose.

«Well, they’re pests. Kinda like rats.» Sora explained, but Shiro was not too sure he was the one talking. «Years ago, there was a boarding school to raise… guards, something like that… to take the Heartless out. To protect people from them. There were three students in that school. Their names were Terra, Aqua, and Ventus.» Sora sat down on a fallen tree, looking at Eugene and Rapunzel with a sad look on his face. «Ventus was fifteen when Terra and Aqua, who were nineteen and seventeen, had a baby girl. A year and a half later, there was… an accident, or better a trap. It all was a mess, and Shiro ended up alone while the three youths and their master vanished. Since then, Heartless have increased. And they will keep on coming, if we don’t find who’s commanding them and stop them from doing any harm to people.»

«At the Snuggly Duckling, you said your dream is to find your parents.» Rapunzel told Shiro. «Do you think they’re still around? Maybe… they could be looking for you.»

«We are looking for them. I’m here to help Sora, so he can join his friend’s search party.» Shiro stuck a hand in a pocket and pulled out her Wayfinder. «This is one of the few things I have left of them.»

«Wait, how is it still whole? I thought Vanitas broke it…» Sora jumped on the spot, then he seemed to remember something. «Wait, no, that was in the Sleep… it was just a nightmare, heh.»

«Fine, now we know one backstory.» Eugene finally smiled. «As for you, Rapunzel? Your hair, how long has it been doing that?»

«Forever, I guess. Mother said when I was a baby people tried to cut it… they wanted to take it for themselves.» Rapunzel showed a lock, hidden behind an ear, unusually short and dark compared to the rest of her hair. «But once it's cut, it turns brown, and loses its power. A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why Mother never let me… That's why I… I never left the…»

“ _This Mother doesn’t act much like a mom._ ” Ephemer stated. He had remained in silence since that morning, since when Shiro had decided to sneak off her room, but now he was finally speaking.

It was Eugene who actually protested out loud about Rapunzel’s mother’s behavior, but to Shiro that story stank even more than Finn’s dirty diapers. Whoever was this _Mother_ , Rapunzel’s story made her horribly similar to how _Father_ had acted with Shiro.

“ _You have a point on this. A parent should act in their child’s best interest. I really don’t want to imagine what Xemnas would have done to you, if I hadn’t locked away your Keyblade the first time you were about to manifest it… Rapunzel wasn’t so lucky, if she mentioned her infancy._ ” Ephemer commented. “ _If she’s one of the Princesses like Sora said, we have to make sure she’s in good hands before we leave. This story looks worse by the minute._ ”

«I think she’ll be fine if she stays with Eugene.» Shiro covered her mouth with her hands and said in a whisper so no one could hear her.

It was Eugene’s turn to tell his story. Like Shiro, he, too, had grown up as an orphan… and the alias he had used as his name was actually the main character of his favorite childhood book.

«… actually, he had enough money to do whatever he wanted to do. He could go anywhere that he wanted to go. And… and, for a kid with nothing… I don't know, I… it just seemed like a better option.»

They still were joking and telling stories around the fire when from Sora’s stomach came a distinct, unmistakable rumbling, and they all remembered they had had nothing to eat since that morning.

«We’re still near a river. This could be a good spot to find some ingredients.» Donald suggested.

«He’s right. It’s a good period for catching freshwater eels.» Eugene stood up. «We _do_ have a pan… we’ll just need some more firewood. We’ll have to cook our dinner after all.»

He pointed the river to Sora.

«If you’re fast enough, you can catch them with bare hands!»

Sora, Donald and Goofy stood up and started walking.

«Shiro, Rapunzel, you two stick together. Yell if you see Heartless or anything else.» Sora told them before walking away.

Both Eugene and the three left the light circle emitted by the fire. Shiro couldn’t help feeling watched… was there anyone else out there?

“ _I think you’re right, Shiro, we’re being wat…_ ”

«Well, I thought they’d never leave.» A woman’s voice spoke behind them, and the two girls sprang to their feet and looked behind them.

There was a middle-aged woman, covered in a black cloak that made Shiro think of the Organization… but no, she saw no sleeves and the hem was golden…

« _Mother_?» Rapunzel asked.

«Is that your mother? I don’t see any resemblance!» Shiro commented.

«How did you find me?» Rapunzel asked, as the woman pushed her away from Shiro in an attempt to hug her.

« Oh, it was easy really. I just listened to the sound of complete and utter betrayal, and followed that.» The lady answered, as if she was saying nothing more concerning than “a little bird told me”.

“ _Is that how it is, you old hag? That’s no way you should talk to your kid!_ ” Ephemer protested in Shiro’s head.

«You… you don’t understand!» It was Rapunzel who reacted. «I’ve been on the most incredible journey. I’ve seen and learned so much. I even met people…»

«Who, Flynn Rider? He’s a wanted thief. I’m so proud. And this little _slip_ of a thing, people are after her, too. She ran away from home as well.»

«That’s not true! I’m not on the run!» Shiro clenched her fists and heavily protested. If she yelled loud enough, someone would have heard them.

«We’re going home. Now.» The girl’s mother grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her away.

«Let go of her!» Ephemer used Shiro’s voice, making her raise her fists to threaten the woman. The Wayfinder fell from Shiro’s pocket during the movement, swinging lazily from her belts.

The old lady glared at the twelve-year-old.

«That glass star!» She let go of Rapunzel’s wrist and stared at it. «I met a man who carried one of those. A man who was looking for his thirteen-year-old daughter in the woods. The same glass star, of another color. Now, little thing, how many months have passed since you abandoned your father?»

«Sailors have made things like this for decades.» Shiro replied, with Ephemer suggesting her what to say so she wouldn’t choke on her words. «And I’m here to help my friends to find my mother.»

«Seriously, Rapunzel. Hanging out with a thief and a liar? After just _one_ day outside?»

«I am no liar and Rapunzel is my friend!» Shiro replied again.

Rapunzel almost seemed petrified by her mother’s preach, but she seemed to be gathering her courage.

«Mother, that man… I think he likes me.»

The old woman remained silent for a moment, then she furrowed even more her eyebrows.

« Likes you? Please, Rapunzel, that's demented. This is why you never should have left. Dear… this whole romance that you've invented just proves you're to naive to be here. Why, a kid like _you_? Come on now, really! Look at you, that face, that ancient dress…»

During all of this, the woman kept touching the girl, shaking her, trying to drag her away… how could she call herself a mother in all of this? She wasn’t like Xemnas, maybe she was even worse… and Saïx and Axel had told Shiro several, _several_ times that wasn’t how a parent was supposed to act.

«Don’t be a dummy, and come with mummy…»

“ _… and do give her a black eye, please._ ” Ephemer was snarling. But it was Rapunzel who reacted.

«NO!»

«No? I see how it is.» The woman gave Rapunzel a sneer. « _Rapunzel knows best, now_. Give him this, if you’re so sure!»

She pulled a satchel from under her cloak, and from it she tossed at Rapunzel what Ephemer identified as a _crown_. Rapunzel was petrified on the spot once again.

«This is why he’s here. Don’t let him deceive you!»

«I trust him.» The girl replied.

«I won’t say I told you so.» The woman literally caught her with the strap of the bag. «If you trust this scoundrel, feel free to put him to the test.»

She walked away from her, until she almost disappeared in the shadows.

«If he’s lying, though, don’t come crying… that only means I was right!»

«Wait…»

She vanished.

The two girls stayed there, staring at the darkness, until Sora’s voice made them both turn on the spot.

«Girls… please give me a hand, eels are slippery!»

When Eugene came back to the camp, Shiro and Rapunzel had started helping Sora preparing the fish, but they had remained in silence all the time. Probably something in the forest had startled them – it was the first time for both into the woods at night, after all.

They all ate almost in silence, Eugene was the only one who spoke, hoping the healing magic would give him superhuman strength, then they all tried to improvise a place to sleep on the ground.

“ _This is not good, they still look scared._ ” Ventus commented while Sora looked at the two girls. A moment later, Goofy, too, asked the two girls whether they were OK and if he needed to look for a nightlight in his inventory.

«Wait, I have a better idea.» Sora searched his pockets until he found one of the heartbinders Yen Sid had given him. «Chonk, come on out, boy!»

The Flowbermeow appeared from thin air, and immediately started wagging his tail and sniffing the air.

«No, there’s no Heartless around. But I think Shiro could be attacked by Nightmares. Could you watch over her, please?»

Chonk wagged his tail again, bounced once or twice on the spot, then he snuggled between Shiro and Rapunzel, sniffing at both as they closed their eyes.

«Okay, I’m afraid of asking you about that big cat thingy.» Eugene commented looking at Sora, then he smiled and laid down.

«Oh, you are such a good boy! Yes you are!»

Sora opened his eyes. A white horse – the same who had broken the dam – was staring in a menacing way at Eugene, and Rapunzel was trying to calm him down.

«Sora, just how could you stay asleep until now?» Shiro commented, pulling him aside. Meanwhile, Rapunzel had started cuddling the horse to the point the animal was wagging his tail.

«I _was_ tired after all.» Sora folded his arms.

«You all tired, chasing the bad man all over the place? Nobody appreciates you, do they? Do they?» Rapunzel kept cuddling the horse, ignoring Eugene’s protests. She seemed to have a purpose, maybe she was even bantering, because it looked like the horse – Maximus – agreed he wouldn’t bother Eugene for that day.

They were close to the capital city. So close they could hear the bells striking eight.

The city was located on a small island, linked to the mainland by a stone bridge. A festival was about to begin, judging by all the people coming from the countryside and crossing the bridge. And there were even _more_ within the wall… Rapunzel spent the first ten minutes in the city with her hair getting stepped on or tangled somewhere, at least until Eugene didn’t call for three kids to help and asked them to braid the girl’s hair.

«So what’s this festival for, Eugene?» Sora asked the older boy, while Rapunzel and Shiro were busy drawing with chalk on the pavement.

«The king and queen still celebrate their lost daughter’s birthday…» Eugene turned serious. «They had wished for years for a child, the queen had even risked to die during her pregnancy… then, before she could turn one year old, the baby disappeared. The sovereigns still hope to find her, one day. I suppose the festival is so that the kingdom won’t lose hope.»

He shrugged.

«The flying lanterns will be the main event, after the sunset. I’d get one for each of you, if I were you and your friends.»

Sora folded his arms behind his head. They couldn’t stay for long, not with the situation so _tranquil_ in that place and Shiro so far from where she was supposed to be, and _Riku in the Dark Realm_. If nothing bad was going to happen, and if Eugene had really grown as fond of Rapunzel as it looked, then their mission there was cleared.

But he also couldn’t take from Shiro that day. He didn’t remember ever seeing her having that much fun as she drew near her newest friend.

The preteen had filled her part of pavement with Orange Flans and a sort of sausage that was probably Chonk, and if the yellow chalk in her hands suggested Sora something, she was probably about to draw Roxas somewhere…

«I think I’ll take Shiro home once the festival is over.» Sora confessed in a murmur. «But if it’s fine for you and Rapunzel, if you’re thinking of coming back here next year, we could meet again. Assuming you and Rapunzel, well, it’s not goodbye for the two of you after tonight.»

Eugene smiled and shook his head.

«You know, I don’t think I will.» He stated. «I… well, struck a deal lately. I should get a lot of money with it, and if she wanted to come with me… well, it’d be enough money for a home. A place where we could come back after one or two adventures. And you, Shiro, and the other two would always be welcome. Along with the Snuggly Duckling boys.»

«I’d love to visit.» Sora admitted.

In another corner of the square, a small orchestra had started playing a catchy tune, and Rapunzel and Shiro had stood up and had started dancing. Some children had immediately joined them.

Sora looked at them for a couple moments, tapping a foot on the ground, then he decided he’d jump in as well – since when he no longer just danced because _he wanted to do that_?

“ _I’ve never seen something like this,_ ” Roxas commented in his head. Now the kids had been joined by teenagers, then the adults as well, and Shiro after a few clumsy steps kept moving in a more and more confident way, looking at Rapunzel every now and then to see how it was done.

“ _You’ve really missed out on things, Roxas. This is so fun!_ ” Ventus replied, then he asked Sora for control and started making a few moves Sora did not know. Sora sure hoped Ventus would go easy on him… he couldn’t have protected anyone if he sprained an ankle or a wrist… Ventus made him land with a hand on a barrel, make a one-handed headstand and spin on the spot, and the crowd around them applauded and cheered.

«Can I have this dance?» Sora asked Shiro as Ventus made him reach out towards her. It felt strange, even if Sora was having a blast. He felt Ventus’s joy and pride in his heart, he felt it had been _years_ he had been waiting for a moment like that, and he felt Roxas growing more and more embarrassed and confused despite him being somehow happy.

Shiro blushed and chuckled, almost at a loss of what to do, then she nodded and took Sora’s hands.

«But… it’s my first time, I’m not good…»

«Don’t worry, my boots are hard enough.» Sora joked, letting the music and the friends in his heart guide him.

«Yeah, and Uncle Ven is fast enough, isn’t he?» Shiro laughed.

The square was now full of dancing people, even Eugene had finally joined, and Donald and Goofy were clapping at the edge. The sky was turning orange above them, and the air got cooler and cooler.

Then, somewhere from the alleys, someone yelled: «To the boats!»

The townspeople turned to where the voice had come from. The person shouted again, and the square was quickly emptied, while people ran to the piers.

Eugene, who had managed to dance with Rapunzel just before the music stopped, took the girl by the hand and told her he knew a special place, but Shiro immediately pointed to Sora the lighthouse at the end of the piers.

«See you there?» she asked him.

Sora hesitated for a moment when he saw her leaving, but he decided to trust her. The city was crowded, Ephemer was with her, and it wouldn’t have been easy for any villain to spot a short kid in the crowd.

He, Donald and Goofy had just arrived on top of the building and were looking at the boats sailing away from the piers when Shiro arrived behind them with four candy apples in her hands.

«No one was selling ice cream, but I think these will still do.» She said, passing one to Sora. «Like Axel used to say, icing on the cake.»

Above them, one single lantern rose from the walls of the castle. As if responding to a signal, from the boats more lanterns were raised, and even more from the land.

Around them, dozens and dozens of lanterns were lit and raised up in the air, and Sora was just enjoying the sight… all of those lights flying and floating and shining above them, making the night almost look like daylight.

Every light was a person, each of them, one of the many who still hoped for the princess to come home. Sora could easily believe that Rapunzel had been drawn to them while looking from afar… that sight reminded him of something… _no, it didn’t,_ it was no memory of his.

A lump was rising in his throat, and he understood Ventus needed to say something.

_Say it, Ven_.

«Know what, Shiro?»

The girl turned, and judging by her confused look she had to have noticed it was Ventus speaking.

«… Uncle Ven?»

«Once someone told me that every star in the sky is a world.» Ventus made Sora nod, then he made him stand up. «And their light, their hearts, is shining down on us like a million lanterns.»

Sora felt tears on his face, but he could not control his arms to dry them.

«Yeah, but… what does it mean?» Shiro looked first at him, then at the lanterns again.

«That person… your Dad… told me they’re just like us.» Ventus explained. «I couldn’t understand, but… look right in front of us now. All the people in this city, holding up a lantern to light a way home for the lost princess. He was right. _Terra was right_. I would find out someday… and I do now. It’s all of us. We’re each a guiding light for the people we love.»

He leaned against one of the columns of the lighthouse, and left control to Sora once again. But Sora still felt like crying. He dried up his tears with the back of his hand, and looked once more at the lights in the sky.

«Sora, what about _our_ lanterns?» Goofy reminded him, handing him a paper package.

The boy bit his lip, then sighed and helped his friends unfolding and lighting their four lanterns. A few moments later, four more paper lanterns were flying from the lighthouse, and just before they joined the others, Sora noticed that Shiro had traced her Wayfinder on hers with a piece of colored chalk.

“ _Nothing will ever drive us apart. We’ll always find our way back to each other._ ” Ventus commented in his head. “ _You’re the most important people in my life._ ”

Another tear fell from Sora’s eyes, but this time he didn’t wipe it.

He put a hand on Shiro’s shoulder, closed his eyes for a moment, and let Ventus speak one more time.

«They’re gonna be so proud of you.»


	4. Acqua e Sangue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, knowing Italian - it's our native language - we had to insert some unjustified Italian in titles just like in the KH soundtracks. For whoever can't figure it out, the title is "water and blood" and it's a hint to the proverb about blood being thicker than water.  
> That, and something else.

Riku landed with his feet in the black sand, Way To The Dawn clenched in his hand, and looked behind him.

The mass of Shadows that had erected that Dark Tower was gradually dismembering and vanishing, but Mickey still looked very tense.

He had only said moments before Aqua had fallen in a dark, dangerous abyss, maybe too dangerous even for them, just like it had happened to Shiro a few days before.

Still, urgent as it was to rescue the Guardians of Light, keeping the New Seven Hearts safe was just as important, and Sora, who was more versed in scouring the Realms of Light, had been sent after them and _they couldn’t have Ventus there to help them_. The very Ventus who was likely the key to save Aqua just like he had helped Shiro.

«We can’t stay here too long. We’re risking our lives with every step.» Mickey quickly took a look around, with a deluded expression on his face. «Let’s get back to the Tower. We’ll wait for Sora to report.»

«The phones are working. I could alw…» Riku stuck a hand in his pocket and grabbed his cell phone, but something threw him in a direction and the King in another.

The Heartless were back, and they were not alone. A dark shape, too big for a Shadow, too lean to be a Gigashadow, too _human_ for any of those monsters, approached them walking on the dark water. Mickey had been thrown away further, his Keyblade out of reach… Riku clenched in his right hand his own, ready to fight to the bitter end…

… until help would come.

He still had his phone in his left hand, Sora’s contact open.

He moved his thumb to type three letters. His friend would understand.

Riku only had to hope he’d be there in time.

But _time_ , in the Dark Realm, had its own peculiar way of passing.

* * *

The bells of a clocktower in the city struck ten.

The streets started getting emptier, save for the occasional tipsy townsfolk still trying to enjoy the festival, and the darkness was lit by streetlamps.

Sora was pacing back and forth, hands in his pockets, taking glances at the streets and the sea, but still no one seemed to be coming for them.

«Are they lost or what?» he murmured deep in his thoughts as he crossed his arms behind his head.

“ _I doubt it. Eugene seemed to know the place._ ” Roxas immediately corrected him. “ _Maybe they simply tried to get… well, what Axel called a room._ ”

“ _No way Roxas, he did know we’d be leaving after the lanterns. And Rapunzel? I’ll take a guess and say she’d want to say us all goodbye._ ” Ventus contradicted him.

«Rapunzel told me she’d teach me constellations when the lights were gone.» Shiro snorted. «She can’t have forgotten that.»

Goofy, laying against a stack of crates, said out loud what everyone was probably thinking and _no one_ wanted to admit.

«Aw-yuk, what if they have been attacked?»

Near him, Donald jumped on the spot, flapped his arms, ruffled his feather and leapt on the ground.

«WAK! Why are you only saying that now, you big palooka?»

«Yeah, but who could actually want to hurt her?» Shiro asked, then her eyes suddenly turned glassy and her voice turned slightly deeper.

« _Now let’s think about this. What if Rapunzel is the lost princess?_ » It was Ephemer talking, without a doubt. « _The birthday matches, and so does the age. And, yesterday night Shiro met a woman who claimed to be Rapunzel’s mother… and she’s worse than Xemnas. And the portrait we saw in the square… the odds are very high… and she might even realize it herself after today!_ »

Shiro shook her head and her eyes became focused again.

«Jumping Chocobos and snipes!» she burst out. She seemed livid with rage.

«Fine, we’ll go look for her.» Sora gestured to her to follow him. After all, it had _all_ be fine until then… what else could have happened?

He had his answer when he and Shiro, with Donald and Goofy behind them, were running on the bridge after searching the city. A boat was floating in the opposite direction, and Eugene was _tied_ to the helm, out cold. On the shore, two thugs were fainted on the ground, and a green lantern revealed Rapunzel hugging a hooded, greying lady.

«It’s the witch I saw yesterday!» Shiro exclaimed, speeding up and running ahead of Sora. «Rapunzel! RAPUNZEL! Don’t go, it’s a tr…»

She stopped just as suddenly as she had started running. Dark mist had appeared on the stone pavement, and a dark-coated man with pink hair and a sickle in his hand stood in front of her.

«Get lost, _Marklutzia_!»

Sora reached her and immediately summoned Shooting Star to his hands. He remembered Shiro mentioning a Marluxia, long before… but… wasn’t he _dead_?

«Shiro, get back to the city and find Maximus. I’ll take care of Mr. Has-been.» He stepped in front of her and stood between the girl and the Nobody.

“ _Did you hear him? Turn around!_ ” Ephemer immediately repeated Sora’s orders. Reluctantly, Shiro turned and started running in the opposite direction, without dismissing the weapon.

But they were not alone on the bridge. There was a shadow, a person standing in the gateway to the city. Probably a guard… oh, well, Eugene didn’t seem in good terms with them, but if Rapunzel really was the lost princess…

«Help! Anyone! A girl’s being kidnapped!»

The man in front of her, brown hair combed back, and dressed in brown and black, gave her a confused look. Shiro stopped a few steps away from him, and the Wayfinder fell out of her pocket again, swinging from her belts.

«Please…»

The man’s gaze fell on the good luck charm. He gasped in surprise, as if that thing was a familiar sight.

«… Aqua?» he murmured.

Shiro’s eyes grew as wide as saucepans… if that man knew Mama’s name… he had to be him, so was it really true he was after her?

«It’s Shiro… Aqua is my Mama.»

«Shiro…?» The man looked at her, the shadow of a smile on his face. He seemed to be almost suffering, but he was trying to smile. «You… you got so big…»

The girl felt her cheeks were getting wet, she tried to take a better look at Dad… and he wasn’t the _Dad_ in the picture in the castle… he matched Stitch’s description. She dismissed the Keyblade and ran to him, almost shoving him backwards when her hands touched his chest.

«I found you! I found you! Now Sora and Uncle Ven won’t say I mess things up anymore!»

“ _Wait, Shiro… what if this has to do with the witch? She did say she saw him…_ ” Ephemer tried to point out. Shiro decided she’d ignore him… that was Dad… she was sure of it… it had to be him.

«Dad, my friend is in danger.» Shiro turned to face the sea once again. She pointed at the spot where Rapunzel had disappeared, and Marluxia was still blocking that end of the bridge.

Dad stiffened. While he took a hand to his forehead, he could hardly hiss out a: «Run!» and in the dark of the night, Shiro could have sworn his hair was literally _bleaching_.

“ _Keyblade, Shiro, KEYBLADE!_ ” Ephemer immediately exhorted her.

Shiro raised her arm… but couldn’t summon anything. _She didn’t want to hurt him_ … that was Dad and yet he wasn’t, now he was the man in the portrait again, and it probably _was_ all a trap but…

Something dashed in front of her and she could hear the _dong_ of metal on metal.

«Hello there, _Terra_.»

There was Sora in front of her, Shooting Star still in his hand, but the voice was Ventus’s.

«We were _just_ talking about you about half an hour ago.»

He had parried holding his Keyblade in a reverse grip, with a confidence that let Shiro think he knew the fighting style of the man in front of him.

«Donald and Goofy are keeping Marluxia busy.» It was Sora who spoke as he kept keeping Not-Dad at bay. «Find Maximus and save Eugene. And _do stay safe_.»

«Sora… the bridge… the sea…» Shiro protested – did he even know she could not swim?

«Go! Now!» With his left hand, Sora took something from his pants and tossed it on the pavement. Chonk emerged from the summoning item and stopped in front of Shiro, wiggling for her to climb on his back. On the bridge, Sora – or Ventus? – was still fighting Not-Dad, trying to keep him from approaching Shiro.

She gave them one last glance, then she climbed on the Dream Eater.

Chonk leapt from the bridge towards the sea, and started swimming to the docks. Shiro hugged his neck, trying to hold on, and looked back for the last time.

Six swords of translucent lights had materialized behind Sora’s back, and the boy was surrounded by a silver-ish aura. It looked like a very powerful attack… but what could have happened now?

* * *

Kairi showed Ienzo the app she and Sora used to communicate. After a picture of a night sky full of lanterns, and a selfie of Shiro pulling faces at the phone next to the girl with the longest hair Kairi had ever seen, there were no news from the two Keyblade wielders, or Donald and Goofy.

«This means they must have some tough nuts to crack in Corona.» Ienzo took a hand to his chin. «When it rains, it pours, I suppose.»

«Let me guess, there’s something that needs Sora’s immediate attention.» Lea grimaced as he gave a glance to the computer screen, where the Roxas file had _finally_ gained pictures and data about his physical appearance. «Wish we could _already_ have Roxas back.»

«Less crap, more listening!» Ienzo whacked Lea’s ear with Shiro’s old diary. «Believe me, I wish I could have Roxas right now instead of _you_ , but beggars can’t be choosers, and right now the available Keyblade wielders are you and Kairi.»

He minimized the files Ate and Nines were copying from the virtual Twilight Town, and opened what Kairi recognized as a map of the worlds.

«With Sora moving through this sector, I could amplify the radar data.» Ienzo started explaining. «See the white spots? Well, Kairi, considering one is right here in Radiant Garden, you can imagine what they mark. The others are Twilight Town, the Kingdom of Corona, where Sora is now, and three more we have no info about. _This_ in particular has drawn my attention.» He pointed at a world where the white spot actually looked bigger.

«Wait a minute, Ienzo.» Kairi interrupted him. «I thought there was seven of us.»

«The seventh light might not be visible. Sora said that Luna, the girl he met, is from a world I can’t see on these maps, so it might be we’re not catching the light signal _yet_.» Ienzo contradicted her. «But the signal coming from here is _very_ strong, and I cannot know why until someone goes there and takes a look. Machines are useful, but sometimes are no match for human eyes.»

« _Great_. Sora will never go look for the Lost Guardians, if it goes on like this!» Lea stared at his boots. «I mean. If we could actually save Aqua, we’d be two times faster searching for damsels in distress, even if she doesn’t join us, since Riku would be free to help. And now we have to intervene as soon as possible and guess who’s left?»

He sprang up from his chair, and he seemed on the point to finish his speech with some curse words about the lack of properly-trained Guardians of Light, but Kairi decided to interrupt him.

«Us.» She smiled and shrugged. «And I think that’s why Ienzo called us. Lea, you and I should go there.»

Lea was almost _frozen_ by Kairi’s reply.

« _What?_ » He shook his head in disbelief. «Do you want to risk your life before we need to?»

Kairi stared at him. «I can take care of myself. The girl we may find over there _might not be able to_. How’s that for you?»

Lea stayed silent, looking at her, at a loss for words. Kairi decided to take advantage of the situation while she still had it.

«And if Xehanort really wants a seven versus thirteen, he can’t afford himself to _really_ hurt us until we set foot in his badlands and everyone’s ready.»

Judging by the look on his face, Lea seemed about to surrender.

«Fine by me. But now you go to the Moogles and you stock up on Hi-Potions or all the strongest stuff they have.»

«Aye, sir!» Kairi feigned a salute, then she started running in the hallways. It was getting cool in the city, and the Radiant Garden castle was getting colder as well, especially considering that since there were so few people living there, the heating system wasn’t fully working.

A door slammed, and some sheets flew from another room. Kairi hastily went to pick them up – Ienzo wouldn’t have been too happy if papers got lost – and tried to put them back on the desk in the room they had flown from. Judging by the name plate, the office had belonged to a “Edith Hightower, Librarian”, and there were two framed photographs on it. In one, a young blond man and a red-haired young woman were smiling at the camera, in formal attire. In the other there were two children… no, wait, one was a teenager… standing in a garden covered in snow, between them a snowman that reached the taller one’s elbow. They both had red hair sticking out of woolen hats, their faces were reddened by the cold, and their smiles were wide… or so it looked, because the smaller child’s nose and mouth were covered by a scarf. Kairi recognized the swing in the backyard next to the Fairs’ behind them.

Wait a moment, the bigger one… _wasn’t he Lea_?

* * *

«Sora. _Sora_. SORA!»

Something warm and wet rubbed on his face. Warm, wet, and _scratchy_. Sora opened his eyes and found himself with Chonk’s two front paws on his shoulders, and Shiro standing over him and holding his ankles up.

«You’re lucky the chonk here went first. I was willing to let Maximus give a try.»

That was Eugene’s voice! What happened?

Chonk vanished in a puff of smoke, and Sora tried to sit up. All of his limbs and his back were in pain, Donald was on his left and Goofy on his right, and Eugene and Maximus were behind him, ready to intervene.

«Drink up.» Donald immediately put an Elixir in his hands. «We gotta move!»

Sora uncorked the bottle, but he slowly looked around before drinking.

«What…?» he asked. Shiro let his feet go.

«You have to thank the kiddo if we’re all fine. Looks like you protected her from an imposter who almost convinced her he was her old man… but it _also_ looks like she and Maximus called for all the Snuggly Duckling thugs to the rescue and they broke me out of jail.» Eugene shrugged. «Do you feel like standing up? We have a princess to rescue.»

Sora swallowed the Elixir in a single gulp and waited for the healing concoction to make him strong enough to stand.

«We have to be fast.» Eugene had never been so serious in the two days Sora had known him. He jumped onto Maximus’s back and gestured for Sora to get behind him.

«Aren’t we too many?» the boy asked the older man.

«We are.» Shiro pulled out of her pocket the Heartbinder and summoned Chonk again. «Donald and Goofy can ride with Eugene and Maximus. Chonky-boy and I will take care of Sora.»

The road they had needed a day to walk was much shorter on horse – and cat – back. Maximus almost looked tired with three riders, and despite Chonk didn’t look fast he had no problems bouncing behind him.

In the clearing where they had found the Flans there were Heartless and Nobodies blocking the way, and Sora and Shiro let Eugene go ahead, offering themselves as diversion.

«Isn’t it dangerous?» Shiro pointed out as the two kids slashed at the enemies around them.

«Eugene can take care of himself.» Sora replied. «I have to take care of you as well.»

In that moment, Sora would have appreciated _very much_ if Ventus and Roxas could have stood next to him, instead of being mere spectators, and helped him vanquish the monsters. He had a bad feeling about who or what they would have found at the tower, and he could understand why Ventus, when they had seen the enemies, had suggested him to make Eugene go ahead alone.

Xehanort or Marluxia wouldn’t have seen the adventurer as a threat or a target… but they would have done it, with him or Shiro.

They reached the cavern hidden by the foliage, Donald and Goofy behind Sora and Shiro, covering their back, they ran through the tunnel, until the hollow with the tower… only in that moment Sora realized that a tower in a place like _that_ , where there was nothing to watch and where the top didn’t reach the edge of the rocks… it was nothing but a hidden prison…

… and Xehanort, the one who had taken over Terra, was standing in front of a door that had probably been walled until the day before.

“ _We can’t beat him, Sora_.” Ventus immediately said in a sad tone, even before Sora could summon his Keyblade.

«What?» Sora whispered.

“ _I’d have to be in my own body to resist to him. I don’t want to hurt you again._ ”

«What can we do then?»

They could not stay still, that was for sure. Eugene couldn’t be seen anywhere, and Rapunzel’s golden hair was hanging from the window. They had to understand what had just happened and Terra… _Xehanort_ … was standing in the way, and he was raising a hand at them.

«Shiro…» He was saying. «Let’s go home, _sunshine_.»

“ _No, Terra, we’ll be bringing YOU home!_ ” Ventus snarled in Sora’s head. Then, without any warning, he made Sora clear his throat and make two steps forward.

« _You’ll regret it all someday!_ » What Ventus was making Sora say sounded almost like a threat, but then why was he _singing_? « _You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey…_ »

_What_? A song? Xehanort, though, flinched on the spot, pressing on his temple with a hand. Ventus made Sora walk further, without stopping singing, and Shiro took his hand, and kept singing as well.

From the window, Rapunzel’s hair started turning brown… some of the locks even _fell_. What was happening over there? But Ventus didn’t stop making Sora sing… Xehanort was almost paralyzed on the spot… a black cloak fell from the window, there seemed to be somebody or something in it… but when it fell to the ground, only the cloak touched the lawn.

The thud of the cloth was almost a signal for Xehanort, who summoned a Dark Corridor and vanished. Sora and Shiro ran to the spot where the garment had fallen.

«It’s that horrible lady’s cloak!» Shiro said once they were close. There also was her dress… and _dust_ , lots of dust.

“ _Oh_ …” Ventus commented in his head, and Sora felt like he was about to barf. He did not want to imagine what was that dust, or the reason of that horrible smell of decay.

«Rapunzel’s hair… it heals…» Shiro started saying, but judging by her lower voice, it was Ephemer talking. «Just _how old_ was that old witch?»

«Let’s go!» Donald reached them and pointed at the door. Whatever had happened, it probably wasn’t over.

They took the door and rushed up the winding stairs. There was a dim-lit room at the top, the floor covered in shattered glass and hairs. Rapunzel, whose hair now was brown and short, was kneeling over Eugene, who was not moving at all, weeping. A piece of mirror was still in the man’s hand, and his vest was covered in blood.

The phone started vibrating in Sora’s pocket, but he ignored it. _It couldn’t be_ … what had just happened?

Sora felt his eyes filling with tears, but Shiro hugged him tight and started crying on him. Donald and Goofy held them between them… Sora felt a horrible rage from within… _why had they let him go_? Now it was too late, they had lost a friend… only the afternoon before Eugene had told Sora about his hopes and dreams and _he couldn’t be just gone like that_ , he couldn’t…

One of Rapunzel’s tears fell on Eugene’s face…

… _and something happened_.

The dim-lit tower was filled with light, light coming from _them_ , and Sora and Shiro looked up, and when the light faded out, Eugene Fitzherbert had opened his eyes.

They helped the two back on their feet. They both were visibly shaking, but smiling. Eugene had even started joking about the fact he had always had a thing for brunettes, and Rapunzel admitted she had found out she was the lost princess of Corona.

«You made it!» Shiro exulted. «Now you’ll all go home!»

«Are you coming… with me?» Rapunzel asked Eugene, and for a moment she was serious once again. The man remained silent, then smirked.

«Well, I already died once. I guess I have nothing to fear!»

Rapunzel picked up something from the floor – a precious-looking diadem.

«I think they’ll have nothing to say if you’re bringing back _this_ and _its owner_.» She gave him a smile.

As they walked down the stairs and got back into the open air, Shiro looked down, and in the corner of his eye, Sora saw her putting a hand in her pocket and clutching the Wayfinder.

«See? You have your family now… your dream came true and…» She seemed to be trying her best to be happy for her friend, but Sora _remembered_ Shiro yelling at the top of her lungs that her dream was to have her own family back. «… maybe I can hope for this too someday?»

«Let’s get you back to Aerith first.» Donald pointed a finger at her, arching an eyebrow. «And _maybe_ while we’re in the ship we call Riku and ask him if there’s any news.»

«Come on here, Shiro.» Rapunzel gestured her to come closer. When the girl was in front of her, the princess held her tight in a hug.

Shiro’s face was almost purple with embarrass, but she did not resist. Rapunzel let her go, made a step backwards, and raised up her chin with a hand.

«Go look for your mama now. And then come back and see me, okay? I’ll meet you at the castle, and I also want to meet your family when you’ll find them.»

The speech seemed to be over, but Rapunzel still had tears in her eyes. She dried up with a hand, turning serious, then she smiled to Shiro again.

«I’m so happy you are my friend.»

«So, this is a goodbye and see you soon, right?» Sora searched in his pockets for his telephone. «What about a picture before we…»

There still was a message on his phone. Sora opened it immediately when he recognized the sender as Riku, and his stomach turned to freezing lead when the content of the message revealed to be the letters “SOS”.

«What’s going on?» Donald was the first to notice his sudden change in mood.

«It’s Riku. He needs help,» was all that Sora could manage to say. «We have to go. _Now_.»

* * *

Shiro just couldn’t stay still. They had left Corona a while before, Sora was clutching the controls of the ship so hard his knuckles were turning pale… and she really feared that, if they left her in Radiant Garden, it would have been too late to save Riku, the King…

… _and her mother_.

«Ienzo says that according to Ansem the Wise’s studies, our beach can communicate with the Dark Realm.» Sora was saying, looking at the space in front of him. «When we’re there, Shiro, you must not follow me. I don’t want to save your mother and _then_ answer to her if you get hurt.»

«Could you talk to Kairi?» Goofy asked him.

«She’s been sent off on a mission.» Sora answered again in a flat tone. He seemed to be struggling not to scream… and Shiro could understand him, she didn’t know how she could even feel in that moment… they were a few steps away from Mama, but something had to be happened… why had Riku called for help?

“ _Maybe it has something to do with whatever happened in the nightmare._ ” Ephemer suggested. “ _Whatever Xehanort did to your mother to prevent her from going after him… now could have attacked Riku, too_.”

The remainder of the journey was filled with silence.

Sora seemed more anxious than ever in his hurry to reach their destination, and even Donald and Goofy had noticed how solemn he looked.

They landed on a sandy little islet, and Sora immediately opened the ramp and run outside, looking around.

It was then Shiro noticed they were not alone.

A young man in a white T-shirt, a worn pair of jeans and a blue baseball cap with an yellow, odd-shaped A on the front was inspecting the rock wall in the middle of the island, and a golden-haired young woman with a beige coat, a white and blue shawl around her neck, and her hair tied up in a braid that ended on her left shoulder, was looking at something on the sand that had probably been washed up on the shore by the waves.

«I should have known I’d see you again here, Sora.» The girl told him.

«Luna? What are you and Noctis doing here?» Sora ran to them.

«It’s this place. It seems to have a connection with the dark wave that attacked us in Twilight Town.» She knelt on the sand. The object she was inspecting – that was a _Keyblade_! And even a quite special one, judging by the profanities Ephemer had just yelled in Shiro’s head. «We followed the monster’s tracks until we got here. This was washed up on the shore as we checked the cliffs. It looks like some kind of relic to me… I feel its power. It’s something I do not want to touch. Sora, you said you were a Master…?»

«Well, that _is_ a Keyblade.» Sora picked up the key from the sand.

«That’s not just _any old_ Keyblade! That’s Master’s Defender!» Donald pointed out. «It belongs to the Master Keeper of the Land of Departure!»

«What do _you_ know about that?» Sora turned to him. Donald took his own phone out of his pocket.

«It’s in Jiminy’s Journal. Looks like the King told him.» He explained. «And according to _these_ files, the last Master who wielded it was Aqua!»

_Mama!_ But then, where was she?

«We saw no one here, apart from you.» Noctis, the boy, shook his head.

Sora looked more and more worried, then he looked at Shiro, Noctis and Luna.

«Several days ago, my friend Riku and I were trapped in a Dark Realm. We managed to open a portal back to this world thanks to a message in a bottle…» He weighed the Keyblade in his hand. «If Donald and Ventus got this right, and Aqua cast this into the waves, maybe we could make another.»

He pointed at the rock wall, to a point where Shiro could see a small cavern. Master’s Defender emitted a beam of light from its tip, and the cave turned into a dull grey door with a golden frame and golden handles. Sora, Shiro, Donald and Goofy ran to the cliffs until they reached it.

«Wow, that _is_ a portal. I thought it’d be more like your circles of sparks, Luna.» Noctis commented, then he reached Sora. «Do you think you’re going to need a hand on the other side?»

Sora dismissed the Keyblade and shook his head. «No. Stay here. You too, Donald and Goofy.» He made a couple steps forward, then he seemed to remember something and he turned to Shiro. «And especially _you_ , Shiro. The Realm of Darkness… it isn’t safe for any of you.»

«Forget it. I’m going!» Donald replied, shaking his feathery fists.

«Mama’s beyond that door!» Shiro managed to say before Ephemer stopped her.

«Think about it. Riku himself asked for help. Someone needs to stay out here… just in case. If something happens to the rest of us, you need to carry on.» Sora turned serious, almost sad. «If I don’t come back, take care of Shiro like you did with me.»

«Sora, stop it!»

«We don’t want you goin’ someplace dangerous on your own, aw-yuck.»

Behind them, Noctis and Luna had their weapons in their hands, a sword and a three-tipped spear, but they didn’t seem to be about to intervene. They had probably understood…

“ _… this battle is for Sora and Ventus only_.” Ephemer commented. “ _Which kind of stinks, I have to say it. Little Ven is finally proving himself and I won’t be there to see him_.”

«I won’t be alone, come on!» Sora gave them the widest grin. «Remember who’s with me? We’re going to make it!»

He made the few steps that separated him from the portal and put his hand on the handle.

He was falling. All he could see around him was darkness.

He landed, feet first, in the shallow water and bent his knees, splashing everywhere around.

Sora recognized that place… it was _that beach_.

Riku was right behind him, and in front of them there was what looked like a tower entirely made of Shadows. Luna and Noctis were right, _they were close to the Twilight Town monster_. Or something like that.

«What happened?» Sora asked Riku.

«Wish I knew.» His friend shook his head. «The Shadows… they took the King… and Aqua seems to have gone _mad_. She attacked us… took Mickey’s blade… told us we’re too late.»

“ _This has something to do with what Shiro told us._ ” Ventus was trying to keep calm, but Sora felt the quaver in his words.

«Fair enough. Where are Aqua and the King now?» Sora didn’t waste any time in asking, and Riku pointed at the demon tower. «On my three, we strike!»

Riku made a step forward and drew his blade, and despite how exhausted he looked, a smile made its way on his face.

«Oh, so you _can_ count now?»

«One…» Sora chose to ignore him. «Two… THREE!»

Their Keyblades faded and joined together, becoming the stained-glass long blade that had helped them several times during the nightmare.

Only a slash from the double sword sent the dark tower into pieces… and two shapes fell out of it.

Riku immediately went to rescue King Mickey, but Aqua immediately sprinted towards them, the Keyblade in her hands in an attack stance.

“ _What have they done to her?_ ” Ventus commented as Sora stood between his friend and the Master he was supposed to rescue and parried the blow. Her hair was fading to white, and when Sora looked in Aqua’s eyes, he recognized the same yellow of the Darknesses.

Darkness itself seemed to be covering her, like a sort of layer of sludge.

“ _I can’t move you, Sora. You have to fight with your own strength._ ” Ventus immediately announced. “ _But maybe…_ ”

Aqua leapt backwards. Sora turned to Riku and told him to take care of Mickey.

«Shiro’s just beyond that portal. There’s Donald and Goofy with her, along with two friends of mine.» Sora closed his guard again. He saw Aqua flinching when he mentioned her child, but… _no_ , maybe he had just imagined it.

Aqua attacked again.

«She’s waiting for you!» Sora parried, but it was Ventus who spoke. He _was_ still afraid he’d overload Sora’s body, but nothing prevented him from using his _vocal cords_. «She’s been dreaming every night… about seeing you again. How do you think she’ll react, seeing you like this?»

Slash. Parry.

“ _Watch out for that spinning attack! Move away!_ ”

Ventus seemed to know well the moves of his old sister-in-arms, but he as well was surprised by some of them. Sora heard him _swearing_ when Aqua seemed to vanish in the shadows, only to reappear a few steps away, and then _there were three_ …

“ _These aren’t her attacks… this doesn’t even seem human… SORA NO, WHAT THE FUDGE!_ ”

His last yell was because Sora had just released a powerful Shotlock that had turned out to be outright _lethal_ to some of the recent enemies they had faced. Sora would have never really wanted to hurt a friend, but the flurry of Blizzaga he had had to parry or avoid a handful of seconds before didn’t leave him much of a doubt about the intentions of the woman he was facing.

«Aqua, this isn’t you!» Ventus yelled, and Sora felt his throat burning. «I give in… you were right… you were right all along!»

She seemed to hesitate, and Ventus let Sora take a breath before shouting again.

«I WANNA GO HOME!»

Then, above them, through the portal, a flash of light shone on them for a moment. Both Sora and Aqua stopped… she looked up, almost confused on what to do…

«MAMA!»

… Shiro’s voice echoed above them.

«Shiro, don’t!» Noctis’s voice was barely audible. The girl kept calling at the top of her lungs.

Aqua did not move… she kept looking above them… then she took a hand to her head, while the darkness cloaking her started exhaling like steam. She staggered on the spot, a hand pressing her forehead, like Terra… like Xehanort in front of the tower.

“ _We can free her! Sora, the Power of Waking! NOW!_ ” Ventus didn’t leave him time to think, making him raise up his arms and the Keyblade as he spoke.

Sora squinted his eyes and focused on the magic he had learned in the Sleeping Worlds. Even without seeing _clearly_ Aqua, he could see her heart, her light, about to be smothered by tendrils of darkness. He focused all his will in the spell… he felt Ventus’s presence behind him, almost as if the other boy was there, watching his back and holding his shoulder…

… and then he released the magic.

«Okay, you three. Stand back. Let her _breathe_ , we cannot know what she has been through out there.»

The first voice Aqua heard was not familiar to her, not at all. Who was there? It was a _girl_ ’s voice. Yet her last memory was of two men…

«As for you, over there, I told you to _lay down_. Please and thank you. Donald, Goofy, don’t let him move. I wouldn’t be too surprised if in that Realm of Darkness there was some kind of hulking beast who shook him around like some sort of chew toy.»

_Donald… Goofy…_? Just what had happened?

Aqua tried to open her eyes, but the light was too strong. It almost felt like… Ven and Terra, in front of her? … their voices…?

«It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re at the…» The girl from before spoke again.

«Destiny Islands, Luna, that’s the name.» It was another boy who answered. For a moment, Aqua stiffened. _That voice_. It sounded familiar… _Vanitas_? No, _no_ , despite it sounded slightly hoarse, Vanitas had _never_ spoken with a tone that calm, he had always been much more raucous… and angrier, too.

Wait… Destiny Islands… could that be…?

«Sora?» Aqua made another effort to open her eyes, and slowly sat up on the sand. Sora was there, standing in front of her, his clothes were wet and his face was dirty but he was smiling. And close to him, looking weary, his arms and legs marked by scratches… silver hair… that had to be… «Riku?»

The two boys looked at her, and next to Riku, a little girl that looked probably eleven hid behind his back. The hooded man in the Dark Realm was right… she remembered Sora and Riku as preschoolers, and now Riku looked the age Ventus had been when everything had fallen apart, and Sora seemed slightly younger, even if, just like Ventus, he had the aggravating factor of being short for his age.

«Do you recognize these boys?» The girl on her right, Luna, blonde with a braid and wearing a coat that seemed a little too warm for the insular weather, asked her in a relieved voice.

Aqua nodded, looking around again. Donald and Goofy were on her left, and were doing their best to make an impatient Mickey stay still. Near Luna there was a boy in his late teens with a blue baseball cap on his black hair, but Aqua did not remember knowing him either.

«Ven… I would have sworn he was here… guess I was wrong.»

Her gaze fell on the little girl next to Riku, who had started clutching his arm, while her lower lip had started trembling.

«Don’t be shy. Come on.» Riku put a hand on her shoulder.

«Now, bub, what did Rapunzel tell you?» Sora encouraged her, but his voice sounded just like…

_Bub_. Wasn’t that how Ventus called…

_Shiro_!

«Ma… Mama?» Shiro made a step forward, then another.

Aqua raised her arms, moving a hand in the gesture she had done countless times a lifetime before, when her baby had learned to walk. That memory had felt so terribly far amongst the shadows… and now she was there, doing it _again_ …

Shiro made a few more steps, then she burst into tears and threw herself in her arms.

«I’m here… we’re home, sunshine…» Aqua murmured, closing her arms around her daughter and kissing her head. «Shhh, it’s over. I’m here.»

In front of her, Riku elbowed Sora, hinting at a smile. The shorter boy, though, seemed almost frozen on the spot, capable only of looking, his arms were on his sides, and his eyes were misty.

The grimace on his face was probably hiding some kind of pain.

«Why the long face? Come on, Sora, you were amazing!» Riku put a hand on his shoulder. «Sora… look at me, we made it.»

There was _definitely_ something wrong. Even Shiro seemed to have noticed, because she slid off on the sand next to Aqua and commented with a criticizing look that reminded her _immediately_ of Terra’s: «It’s about Uncle Ven, I’d bet my Keyblade on that.»

Before Aqua could actually ask her about the Keyblade ( _Hers? Already? Who had Bequeathed her?_ ), Shiro flinched where she was sitting, as her right hand emitted a flash of light.

Between her fingers, a thin, filiform blade materialized, surrounded by two spirals, one black and one white, with the hilt looking like stylized wings, anchored to the main blade by the symbol the Keyblade Wielders had been carrying on themselves for years until Castle Departure had been destroyed.

«Hey, it changed…! Just like it happened to me at Twilight Town!» Riku knelt and approached her.

«So what now, Master?» Shiro asked him, confused. Riku had a start and fell butt first on the sand. Shiro dismissed her Keyblade and giggled.

«Aren’t you a Master, Riku?»

There was a buzzing coming from Sora’s pockets, and he walked away from the group, taking a telephone from his trousers. The concerned expression had never left his face.

«What’s going on, Sora?» Donald was the first to reach him, and he had probably been keeping an eye on the boy for a while.

«More trouble.» The boy raised his phone, showing a text message. «Ienzo has used another radar to scan the area where Lea and Kairi are exploring. There are no other lights… but he recorded a source of darkness. A _very powerful_ one… something Ienzo says that the Radiant Garden OS already encountered before… something like eleven years ago.»

Aqua felt panic stirring within herself. _That was no coincidence_. And just when she was in no condition to fight… she no longer had a Keyblade, and she had a child to protect alone…

«Vanitas.» She stated, a quaver in her voice.

Both Sora and Riku looked _very_ concerned.

«Oh, _that guy_.» Sora grimaced. He reached out with his arm, and Master’s Defender appeared in his hand. He left it on the sand, in front of Aqua’s feet. «I think this belongs to you. Now… Noctis, Luna, I need your help. Can you take Aqua and the others to safety? Radiant Garden would be the best, but Twilight Town can do as well, the owner of the Grand Bistrot is Donald’s uncle.»

«We know where’s Radiant Garden, we have been there.» Noctis reached Sora.

The brown-haired boy finally made a relieved smile, then he shook his head and looked at the people on the beach.

«I’ll go flush Vanitas out. You three, try to rest and recover.» In his determined voice, Aqua felt like she heard Ventus once again. «Donald, Goofy, let’s go!»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand, that's where the plot changes. I mean, leaving to Sora all the fun? No way in RoD!
> 
> Also, does Lea wanna build a snowman? ;P


	5. Ice and Fire

«Nothing’s in my way!»

A girl with auburn hair tied up in a bun and a green dress was running in the streets of the city, in the _opposite_ direction of… well, almost everyone else.

Kairi couldn’t avoid lowering her head and turning away when she crashed into a man _first_ and _then_ a cart loaded with ice blocks, ending up laying on the young man _and_ the ice.

«Last famous words, I suppose.» Lea rolled his eyes, but he looked rather amused. Kairi wondered just _how_ could he keep the black coat on in the heat. It had to be summer in that world, compared to the fall in Radiant Garden.

«Well, _excuse me_ , lovebirds?» Another boy, presumably the owner of the cart, approached the two with a scowl on his face. The girl and the other, red-haired man, visibly embarrassed, apologized and _specified they had never met before_.

«Do you like cold drinks?» The owner of the cart was annoyed, but he was trying to keep his composure. «Well, you need ice to keep them fresh. _Nice, clean ice_. Can you get off my ice?»

«Yeah, airheads, get off the ice cream ingredients.» Lea commented, laughing again.

«You and ice cream!» Kairi elbowed him. «Why do you only think about food?»

«Relax! Don’t you see all these people? I think that judging by their Sunday best, the bells ringing and the _ice_ , there’s some kind of big celebration somewhere.» Lea gestured at the decorated borough. There were flags almost everywhere, green and violet with the golden silhouette of a woman painted in the middle.

The false lovebirds seemed to have vanished, and the owner of the cart ran a hand through his straw-colored hair. He did not seem to be used to crowds, at least for how nervous he looked.

«You know, Sven, I’m starting to think it was not a good idea… taking this job at the capital.» He turned to the reindeer that was probably the animal who would be pulling the cart. Then he answered himself, almost as if Sven the reindeer was replying to him. «Yeah, but Her Majesty’s going to pay us well.»

Lea gave him a funny look, but he approached the young man and started asking him something. Kairi followed him, hoping with all of her heart the older Keyblade wielder wouldn’t ask him _for ice cream_.

«What’s going on here?» Lea asked the boy.

«Oh… Queen Elsa has come of age.» The youth shrugged. «The city is all decorated, people are all dressed up, and I and Sven here are just trying to make some money at the coronation. If people could just stop playing around my ice… anyway. I’m Kristoff Bjorgman. You are?»

«I’m Kairi and the blockhead is Lea.» Kairi spoke before Lea could introduce himself.

«… what she said, got it memorized?» Lea immediately added.

«What, your name or your sister calling you a blockhead?» Kristoff snickered. «Because you have to be, wearing that thing with this heat.»

He shook his head, tied the reindeer to the cart and started walking towards a palace towering over the borough. At a point, he started sharing a carrot with the animal.

«And he called _me_ a blockhead!» Lea tilted his head, watching Kristoff walk away. «Why didn’t you tell him we’re not related?»

«Let him believe that, we’ll be less conspicuous.» Kairi shrugged. For how little Kristoff had told them, he had mentioned a _Queen Elsa_ , and knowing the name of the ruler of that place, at least they’d know who to talk to, had they needed a helping hand in searching the area. And he had mentioned she had just come of age, so that probably meant the Queen was rather young, so Kairi hoped she’d manage to win her friendship to get some help.

That world, she thought as they crossed the borough and reached the castle chapel, almost looked like a picture, and it wasn’t much different compared to the pictures Sora and Shiro had sent from Corona. Thinking about what could have happened to her friends, Kairi found her phone in a pocket and checked on Sora’s Kingstagram wall. There were no new pictures, but in Shiro’s… she was in Radiant Garden again! _And Riku too_ …

«What’s up, Kairi?» Lea bent down to look at her. «So Riku’s back? What can I say, we barely missed them! Maybe we could still go back.»

«What, don’t you want to see if there’s ice cream at the party?» Kairi seized Lea by his sleeve. She _needed_ some alone time with him, especially after the picture she had seen on the librarian’s desk.

Ever since she had started sleeping at their place, the Fairs had sworn up and down they had known her as a little girl, that their son Zack had been in her older brother’s class, and now that picture of Lea _in that garden with the tire swing_ with a small kid that _could have been a girl_ , and when Kairi had been found at Destiny Islands, under her dress she had been wearing boys’ boxers that even looked hand-me-downs!

But then, why was Lea like that? Why, with so many clues in front of him, he acted as if he knew nothing?

_Why didn’t you tell him we’re not related_?

Kristoff was right… Lea was the biggest blockhead ever.

They entered the palace blending in with the crowd and the visiting nobles. Queen Elsa, like Kairi had speculated, was probably in her early twenties, but her solemn look made her look rather older. Her platinum blonde hair was braided and tightly held together, she was sticking her arms to her body, shrinking on herself almost as if trying to go unobserved, and every inch of her skin save for her face was covered by clothing despite the warm weather. She was even wearing _gloves_!

In the ballroom Lea and Kairi also spotted the ice cart girl, the one who had been yelling and running in the streets. She seemed way too happy and excited just to _be_ there. Only then, Kairi noticed a whitish streak in her auburn hair.

«… Princess Anna of Arendelle!» A servant announced… then he grabbed the cart girl by an arm and pushed on the same step of the dais Queen Elsa was standing on, just two steps away from her.

«That’s Her Majesty’s _sister_?» Lea’s eyes were open wide. «Are those two really related? I wouldn’t bet a popsicle stick on that! They’re, like, polar opposites!»

«No, they’re not. Same eyes and same nose.» Kairi objected. «Now, we have to find our girl. And I _don’t_ think we can use Ienzo’s radar app, even if he gave it to us.»

«Why not?» Lea was not amused. «Don’t start telling me stuff about protecting the world order, you were the _first_ who pulled a phone out…»

«Lea, what do you think would happen, if you turned on the radar _right now_?» Kairi whispered to him.

«Well, it’d signal us the closest Princ… _ess_.» Lea attempted an answer, but he seemed to realize the reason why his wasn’t the brightest idea. «You know, I still think we should go back and send Riku here instead.»

«Come on, we’re here now. We could talk to the Queen.» Kairi put her hands on her hips. «I know the other Princesses who passed on their light. They didn’t always have the _title_ , but they were always somewhat peculiar… they stand out! Belle was seen as a weirdo in her village. Alice was kind of an oddball to her relatives. Jasmine felt constricted by Agrabah’s laws. And as for me, at school, I was the child who came from nowhere. We’re talking about a girl who sticks out like a sore thumb! Surely the queen… the person _in charge_ here… must have heard something about this!»

«Fine, fine, let’s go talk to the queen.» Lea sighed and made a mischievous grin… then he pointed at a long line of people who were waiting to properly greet the ruler. «We’ll just have to wait in line.»

The wait was longer than Kairi expected. While they were waiting in line, Kairi saw Princess Anna dancing with a balding, tiny duke in high heels, then she left the ballroom with the same red-haired man she had fallen on Kristoff’s cart with.

She saw them vanishing behind a door, then she tried to focus on what they had to tell the Queen. Four more people… three… two… one… their turn at last!

«Your Highness, my regards.» It was Lea who spoke first, accompanying his words with a bow. «We come from far away because we have heard story about a very special girl who might be somewhere in this kingdom. You’re in charge here… have you heard anything like this? Or, do you know anyone who could help us?»

Queen Elsa flinched, as if Lea had just offended her.

«Who are you?» If the Queen’s glances could have hurt, Lea would have been in a lot of pain, Kairi had no doubt about it.

«Lea, what are you even thinking?» Kairi seized the older wielder by his ear and tugged him backwards, like she usually did with Riku. «I humbly apologize for my brother, Your Highness, to say he’s a hot head would be _way too kind_.»

She was about to reformulate Lea’s question when Princess Anna rushed back into the ballroom, holding hands with the young man she had run off with.

«Elsa! I mean... _Queen_...» Anna made her way among the guests, until she reached them. «May I present Prince Hans of the Southern Isles.»

«Your Majesty.» Prince Hans hinted at a bow. «We would like… your… blessing… of our marriage!»

Elsa flinched and shook her head, visibly confused. « _Marriage_?»

«Yesss!» Anna embraced the Prince.

«I'm sorry, I'm confused.»

«I think we can start narrowing our hypothesis for the heart of light. Princess Anna is _not the one_.» Lea commented to Kairi, under his breath, while Anna was babbling about ceremonies, a banquet, _ice cream_ , brothers, and moving. «She’s not a Princess of Heart… she’s the Princess of _Ditz_!»

«No one’s brothers are staying here.» Elsa objected, cutting off both Anna and Hans. «No one is getting _married_. You can’t marry a man you just met!»

«You can if it’s true love!»

«True love? You were strangers until this morning!» Lea interfered, looking very annoyed.

It seems Elsa was well aware of it, because she rolled her eyes and reproached her sister.

«Anna, what do you know about true love?»

«More than you. All you know is how to shut people out!» The younger was livid…

… but Elsa, if possible, was made even angrier by that offense, clenched her teeth and walked away.

«Oh, _no_.» Lea, who had been unresponsively watching the argument until that point, at that point flinched as if he had been stung. «Kairi, look. Her body language.»

«What body language?» The girl whispered to him. «She’s keeping her arms stuck to her torso…»

As Elsa kept walking, Lea started whispering to Kairi.

« _Point_.» Lea pulled Kairi aside, without stopping looking at the queen. «It almost seems like she’s afraid of burning everything she touches. And what’s with her gloves? _In summer_?»

As he spoke, Anna ran to Elsa and actually managed to tear one from her hands. Elsa held back a gasp and _finally_ reached out to the princess – trying to get her glove back.

«What did I ever do to you?» Anna asked again, as Elsa walked towards the door.

«Enough, Anna!» Elsa kept her head low, her teeth clenched, her arms firmly pressed against her body. That was the face of _fear._

Lea sprang forward, maybe trying to separate the two and calm them down, as Anna kept yelling at her elder, accusing her to shut the world out.

He had just reached Anna, seizing her wrist to pull her back, when Elsa, who had her back turned on them, raised her bare hand above her shoulder and made an exasperated gesture towards her younger sister.

«I said ENOUGH!»

Sharp ice stalagmites rose from the floor, forming a circle around her. If she seemed afraid before, now the queen was _terrified_.

«Oh, _crap_.» Lea’s eyes were wide as saucers, fixated on the ice on the wooden floor. «It’s okay… it’s okay…» He made two steps forward, then he summoned his Keyblade and melted the ice closest to him with a blaze. « _Kairi_!»

He didn’t need to tell her anything else for Kairi to step in front of Anna and summon her own Keyblade – the Princess of Heart, wherever she could be, would have waited. A situation like that could have been danger, no matter who was or wasn’t involved.

«Sorcery!» the tiny man who had extorted a dance from Anna yelled. «I _knew_ there was something dubious going on here!»

No one seemed to have a clue on what was happening… unless, maybe, _Lea_.

« _Cool down_! No one’s getting hurt here!» he lowered his Keyblade in what was meant to be a reassuring stance. How could they explain all those people magic was _real_ and also quite complicated without sending the world order to the dogs? Assuming that magic, in _that_ world, was not seen as a bad omen… and judging by the people’s faces… that seemed to be the case.

_And it was especially Elsa who was looking at Lea in fear_. She was clutching her bare hand to her chest, pressing the still-covered right hand on the door… until she found the handle, opened the door, and ran away.

«Stay here! _Don’t move_. I’m going after her.» Lea melted the ice spikes and reached out for the door. Kairi was about to turn to the bystanders, but someone pushed her aside, throwing her to the floor and making her lose her grip on Destiny’s Embrace, and when she stood up again, she saw, of all people, _Princess Anna herself_ had shoved Lea aside and was running after the Queen.

«Younger sisters!» Lea snorted, but he waited for Kairi to get back to her feet before pursuing the queen and the princess. «You OK, Kairi?»

«It’s nothing. She just took me by surprise.» The girl smiled at him as they ran in the hallways looking for the exit. «How did you know…?»

«To be honest, the ice was unexpected.» Lea answered her embarrassedly. «But now I understand why she looked so tense when we asked her those questions. She probably thought we were after _her_.»

* * *

When Shiro had arrived in the middle of Lord Ansem’s study with Luna’s portal, along with Mama, Riku and the King – and Noctis and Luna themselves – Ienzo had dropped to the floor a pile of books in surprise, but he had not wasted any time in calling for Aerith and the fairies to take care of the wounded.

Luna had insisted to stay, but Aerith had assured her the situation was under control, and in that moment Flora, Fauna and Merriweather were busy cleaning and mending with magic the wounds Riku had gotten in his adventure in the Dark Realm.

«Sgrunt, that Xehanort!» Merriweather grumbled when they were done. «I’d like to turn him into a fat ole hoptoad!»

«Now, dear, that isn’t a very nice thing to say!» Fauna reproached her putting away the bandages they had not used.

«That’d teach him, actually.» Riku stretched out his arms and shook his head. He almost looked sleepy, but he was fighting to stay awake. «How are you feeling, Shiro? And why were you with Sora?»

«Uhm…» The girl rubbed her foot on the floor. She couldn’t come up with a plausible excuse, and she remained in silence hoping for Riku not to ask about it again.

«She hid in the ship the last time Sora came here.» Flora spilled the beans.

Riku hid laughter with a hand. «Well, I heard much worse about other teenagers.»

«Yeah, and it went just fine too.» Shiro confirmed.

The young Master turned serious once again. «Shiro… I’d like to talk to your mother if I can. I never thanked her properly for saving my life.»

«Oh…» Shiro nodded. «Don’t worry, I got this!»

Shiro sprinted out of Riku’s room, ran in the hallway, found Mama’s room, entered and quickly closed the door after herself. She was secretly hoping her mother was still resting so she could spend some more time with her without being seen by the others, but it didn’t bother her too much to see her awake.

«Mama, Master Riku wanted to…»

«Shh, come here…» Mama, sitting on the bed, gestured her to come closer. She had been the first, along with Mickey, to get cured by Aerith, and she didn’t seem to have been hurt seriously, even if she still was visibly tired.

The girl immediately did as she was told and remained in silence, hinting at a smile when her mother took a hand to her head.

«According to Aerith I might just owe you this.»

Shiro felt Mama’s hand tousling her bangs and realized almost immediately what she was about to do. _Probably._ She felt a weight, and then hair falling off.

«I met Dad… I mean… I thought it was him.» The girl confessed when her mother stopped working on her hair. «Are… we going to take him home? And Uncle Ven as well?»

Mama sat in front of her and made her raise her head a little, smiling at her in a reassuring way.

«We’ll all be home, I promise.» She answered, then she started brushing Shiro’s freshly-cut hair. «We’ll wake your Uncle up and we’ll all bring home Dad together… he’ll be proud of how his little sunshine has grown.»

Mama giggled at Shiro, tapping her nose with a finger, and the girl hugged her mother tight, before closing her eyes for a few moments.

«I already feel at home… with you here.»

* * *

The snow was glowing white on the mountain that night, falling so quickly Lea and Kairi could hardly follow Elsa’s footprints – they were erased almost immediately by the blizzard.

All the work they had done to be the fastest in the queen’s pursuit would have meant very little, had they lost her in the swirling storm. It almost seemed she _did_ want to conceal herself in the most isolated place she could think of… and considering the ice and snow, Lea could easily imagine why.

The wind and the snow seemed to slow down, and for a moment the sky was visible once again.

Then, a yell echoed in the night.

«LET IT GO!»

It was Elsa’s voice.

«Do you think she saw us?» Kairi whispered to Lea. He shook his head.

Elsa yelled again.

« _Let it go_!» Lea heard her taking a breath, then he saw the snow swirling around her silhouette. «I don’t care what they’re going to say… let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway!»

The man hinted at a smirk.

«No, she’s not on our case. More like yelling at the wind.»

Somehow, Lea felt like he could understand her. He had heard Anna talking about closed doors, he had seen Elsa’s body language, showing her fear of hurting the people around her – ten years spent feeling _nothing_ had taught him to simulate with his body what he had been supposed to feel not to stand out more than he did – and judging by the surprised faces of whoever had seen the ice, no one had been aware of it before that day.

For how long Elsa had concealed herself from the world – from _her own sister_?

_Ha, ha, look who’s talking, LEA_. He still remembered Shiro’s lecture, some days before. It was a cruel irony that now Kairi was pretending to be his sister when she _really was_.

«So, what now?» Kairi grabbed him by a sleeve. Lea instinctively conjured a circle of fire around them – cold didn’t bother _him_ either, but Kairi had no sleeves, and under her skirt, her leggings were too short for the weather.

«She’ll finish _letting it go_ sooner or later, and we go talk to her.» Lea shrugged. «I’d ask you if you want to build a snowman, but Her Majesty already made one.» He pointed at a roundish figure not too far from them.

Kairi smiled, and burst into laughter when Elsa threw her mantle to the wind and the garment flew away… taking the snowman. Lea had to hold back the lump in his throat. He still remembered the one they had made, _even taller than she had been_ in the last winter they had spent together, and he remembered Kairi’s tears when it had melted in spring.

It seemed that “letting it go” for Elsa meant _letting it go big_. First, she had made a staircase to cross a crevice, then walls, a floor, a whole _ice palace_ towering over the mountain top like a spire.

Lea hoped she didn’t want to stay there forever – it was not too bad for a shelter in the middle of nowhere, but she’d have to get back home as soon as she realized the castle had no pantry. He knew a thing or two about that, he had _tried_ to run away from home at twelve and he had ended up taking shelter at Isa’s… and Ilyas and Suzan had called first the city guards and then his parents.

«I think she’s done.» Kairi pointed at the castle, that had stopped “growing”. Lea dismissed the circle of fire so they could move and they both ran to the staircase.

«Get _lost_ , you idiot.» A _sadly_ familiar voice made Lea stop in his tracks. The snow in front of them turned black, and… _of all the pains in the a_ … Larxene emerged from the Dark Corridor. «I didn’t recall this Queen needing a _fool_.»

«I thought they’d deem you too hateful even for the Darknesses’ standards.» Lea immediately summoned Flame Liberator, ready to knock her out of his path _himself_ , this time. The presence of a Darkness left little to none room for doubt… was _Elsa herself_ the girl they were looking for?

«Do you know her?» Kairi closed her guard as well, Destiny’s Embrace in her hands, but stood a step behind him.

«Yeah. I thought Sora served her well a year ago.» Lea explained her. «Oh, well, no harm done. I wanted to do this myself after all!»

«I said _get lost_!» Larxene raised her hands, and two bolts of lightning soared in their direction, along with a gust of freezing wind. Lea would have been swept away, hadn’t it been for the barrier Kairi had hastily summoned in front of them.

«Hey, that was some good magic!» The man grinned to the younger girl.

«Let’s just say I started practicing after Xigbar.» Kairi shrugged.

«Oh, looky. Such a cheesy sibling act.» Larxene taunted them. «I’m impressed, but do you really think you can teach stuff to the queen and the ditzy princess? You’re just two hypocrites pretending to be fond of each other!»

Lea clenched his fist around the hilt of his weapon until his hand hurt. He could not reply… but he could not even let her talk. _That was not true!_

With his free hand, he conjured a ball of fire in front of himself, but Kairi grabbed his coat.

«Elsa is still in there. And she’s probably still terrified!» She reproached him. «What if she runs further?»

«Very well. _Now leave_. Pretty in Pink here makes so much light I can’t make out the Queen of Snow’s.» Larxene smirked.

Kairi clenched her Keyblade, livid with cold and anger. She was visibly holding back from intervening… and she probably was about to attack, but Larxene summoned more lightning and wind. Lea tried to resist, but without fighting fire with fire they wouldn’t be able to resist for long… and they could not attack, not with Elsa and her castle just behind Larxene…

… and the storm sent them flying.

* * *

Riku suppressed a yawn. He could somewhat understand how Sora had felt in the previous days, stuck to the sidelines when someone else was taking care of the most important mission.

Now Sora was taking care of an emergency, Kairi had claimed the sidelines… and he was literally _benched_. If there was a definition of irony, that was pretty close.

The most adventurous thing he had done that day had been exploring the castle basement with Shiro and Aqua, early in the morning, looking for a lost Keyblade in a remote chamber that turned out to be Aqua’s weapon.

Then he had helped Shiro, Ate and Nines solving a mystery about Shiro’s diary. The paradox was, he _did_ remember interacting with someone in the Organization… but he no longer remembered their face and their name.

Ienzo had quickly deduced he had something to do with that story, but Riku only remembered looking for information about Roxas by sending Pluto the dog inside the castle.

Shiro remembered Pluto. _But she didn’t remember who had brought him in_.

Their conjectures had been stopped when the bells had struck nine: for Shiro, it was class picture day at school, and she didn’t want to miss it. To not remain stuck in the castle like Mickey, _who had been ordered rest by the fairies_ , Riku at the moment was on a bench in the borough, sitting near Aqua, waiting for the school bell to ring the end of classes.

«Uhm, Aqua?» He knew he’d regret asking that question, but she was the only adult he knew in that world he could trust with that. «How… how do people fall in love? How does one feel?»

«How do you feel? Well…» Aqua took a hand to her chin and thought about it for a moment. «For a person you love… you’d climb the highest mountain. With bare hands, even with the last of your strength. Your heart beats faster and faster, and you wish you could spend with them every moment of your life.» Her fingers curled around a good luck charm she carried on her clothes, just like Shiro’s but blue, then she looked at Riku again.

«Terra and I were like siblings as kids… and I swear, I would have never imagined him as my partner then, if not as rival and friend…»

Riku watched the older Master smiling, and realized he could relate to her words. Until a couple months before, he would have never thought of Sora and Kairi as… _aaaah_ , what a mess. He hid his face in his hands, aware of his ears growing warmer and warmer.

«You fall in love all of a sudden, and often it’s totally unexpected. In our case, well, Shiro happened, and she only made us closer.» Aqua was saying, but Riku didn’t pay much attention to her. If what he felt was real… it was even more important for him to speak, but he did _not_ want to admit it just because Xehanort was threatening the end of the world as they knew it… those things took time, and he…

«So, did someone strike your heart? You can tell me, I’ll keep the secret.» Aqua put a hand on his shoulder, and Riku struggled not to flinch.

He stared at his boots, then looked up at the school gates. There weren’t many kids – the borough was still recovering – and Shiro was among the first to run out of the door, but a girl who looked Sora and Kairi’s age – Yuna, if Riku could recall – was holding a ball in her hands and asked Shiro if she wanted to play basketball for a while.

«Yeah.» Riku confessed. «And I’m afraid.»

«That she might not like you?»

«Not a girl!» If he could, Riku would have sunk into the ground… he felt more and more stupid for how little and badly he was explaining himself… but he _couldn’t_ explain himself the way he wanted to. It almost felt like everything was too much. «I mean, not just. Now you’ll think I’m an idiot… but I got it bad, and I got it bad for _both_ my best friends. And thing is… they like each other. Or that’s what I’m thinking at least. And I don’t know if what I’m feeling is even real…»

Aqua put a hand on the boy’s head.

«It’s normal, Riku. It’s much more normal than you could imagine. If they do really like each other… care for them. To love a person… or even two in this case… is to be ready to risk it all for them. You’re only sixteen, then again, it is normal not to know your feelings. On the other hand, you’re not the first sixteen-year-old I had to listen to, and I doubt you’ll be the last.»

«I’m trying.» Riku forced himself to smile. «But I feel almost useless, staying here. Sora left again, and without him we can’t go looking for Ventus. Kairi now is looking for the other Princesses with Lea. And as for me, _well_.» He shrugged and laughed a little. «I am _literally_ sitting on a bench.»

«You’re not useless, so don’t feel like that. Shiro likes you a lot by the way. She’s always like, “Master Riku this, Master Riku that”.»

«Really? I thought she could be mad at me.» Riku was surprised by that detail… after all, it had been _him_ who had taken Roxas to DiZ.

«Her cheeks get all pink when she talks about you, almost as if she had a childhood crush. And it also happened with another name…» Aqua thought about it for a moment. «Something like… Roxas? Yeah, and I was asking myself who he is.»

«Oh, _man_.» Riku flinched. Now _he_ had to explain Aqua who was the boy. What if Shiro _did_ really have a crush on Roxas? «Don’t… don’t freak out when you see him.»

«Oh, so you do know him. I’m relieved, you’re acting so much like an older brother to her, and… well, I think Terra would entrust you with her safety as well if he was here…»

«No, wait, Aqua, I’m serious.» Riku didn’t know how to explain Aqua that she was missing the point of what he was saying. «Ahem. I’ve seen Ventus. In the Realm of Sleep. And… Roxas… he’s his spitting image.»

* * *

They had not even spent a whole day in Arendelle, and Kairi was more and more surprised of everything that had happened in that world. Elsa’s powers, the ice palace… and now she and Lea, trying to get back up the mountain, had run into Kristoff Bjorgman himself, who was escorting Princess Anna up the mountain along with his reindeer.

_And a living, talking snowman_.

«And who’s the funky-looking donkey over there?» Olaf the snowman was asking Anna.

«That’s Sven.»

«Uh-huh. And who’s the _reindeer_?»

It was Kristoff who noticed them first.

«Hey! You two were in Arendelle last morning!» He ran to them. «What are you doing here?»

«Hi, Kristoff.» Kairi waved at him.

«Wait, what?» Anna reached them, too. «You’re… the shady guy in the palace! The one controlling fire!» She pointed at Lea.

«Yeah, name’s Lea.» He rolled his eyes, then he remembered to point at his own temple. «Got it memorized? Kairi here and I fear your sister Elsa might be in danger.»

«You didn’t even know who Elsa was until yesterday.» Kristoff scowled at them.

«We _do_ know the witch who’s after her, though.» Lea scowled at him in return. «Anyway, we think she’s afraid of something, and very. What’s the problem with her?»

«Who, Elsa?» Anna shook her head. «It’s thirteen years she shuts herself out. When we were little, we were joined at the hip. She was about to teach me how to skate, we would slide on ice hills in winter, and we often played the enchanted forest in the evenings. After I turned five… things changed. Our parents put us in separate rooms, and she _never_ left hers, like, she hardly came out to _eat_.»

«Leeet me guess. Maybe she even started wearing gloves at that point?» Lea smirked. «I wouldn’t be surprised if it was _then_ her powers showed up.»

«Why, how old were you when you started handling fire?» Anna asked Lea.

«Seventeen. Kairi was five.» He shrugged. «But other things had happened as well. I think our stories are different… but the one that matters now is yours.»

«Ours? There’s not much left to say.» Anna shook her head. «Until three years ago, it was only us in the castle… a few servants… and our parents. Father was always busy with, you know, ruling the realm… and Mother spent most of her time in the library. Elsa… did talk to them. Then, they left and… never returned. Once I believed my sister loved me. And for a moment, yesterday at the party… I was about to believe it again.»

«And then you got it very bad for Brazen Face.» Lea commented, earning himself a well-deserved elbow in the stomach from Kairi.

«What?» He protested. «Elsa was right!»

«And _you_ are tactless,» Kairi replied to him, then she addressed Anna. «Elsa is alone on the top of the mountain, and there are hoodlums in black who think she might not just have ice powers, but light powers, like I do. If it is like this, she _can’t_ remain alone. We must make sure she’s safe.»

«Excuse me now. If they’re threatening you as well, what are you doing in their line of sight?» Kristoff scratched his head under his hat.

«She’s got a sword _and_ her brother.» Lea gave her a one-armed hug from behind.

«Some brother you are, keeping his coat and leaving her to…» Kristoff was about to reply, but Lea flicked his wrist and lit a fire in the middle of their circle. «… _Okay_. Now I’ve seen everything.» The ice harvester chuckled.

«Fine. There’s nothing else to say now, we have to go!» Anna pointed at the path Lea and Kairi had fallen from.

«Follow me, I know the way!» Olaf, who had dangerously approached the fire before Anna had spoken, started toddling towards the North, gesturing at them to follow him.

Kairi took Lea aside and kept him with her as a rearguard. If possible, she wanted to talk to him now they were no longer running after the snow queen.

«Listen, Lea, about all this act…» Kairi started, but Lea interrupted her.

«We should call the others in Radiant Garden. Inform them about Larxene,» He said.

Kairi sighed. _Just why didn’t Lea want to talk_? Maybe “act” wasn’t the right word to describe what they were doing… and maybe it really _wasn’t_ the best time, but it was just as if Lea did not want to admit they really were family, despite all evidence against him.

Kairi still had in her pocket the photograph she had found on the librarian’s desk, the two kids with the snowman. If the Fairs had told the truth, if Lea really was the teenager in the picture… once in Radiant Garden, Kairi would have dragged him by the ears to the Fairs’ house, and would have asked the two gardeners if Lea _really_ was the boy who had been in class with their son Zack.

Wait a moment. _Aerith_. Aerith had been Zack’s girlfriend, maybe Shiro was still sleeping at her place…!

Kairi pulled out her phone and dialed Shiro’s number, hoping the preteen was not at school. Shiro immediately picked up – and she was in the castle courtyard, her hair visibly shorter and less messy, her face red and covered in sweat.

«RIKU!» She yelled at someone on her side. «It’s Kairi and Axel!»

Steps could be heard on the other side, and Riku appeared on screen. He seemed boiling hot as well, but less fatigued than Shiro. «Kairi, Lea! Are you OK over there?»

«The girl we’re supposed to keep safe froze summer here, but everything’s _just fine_.» Lea mumbled as they plowed through the snow. «What about you? Working hard, huh?»

«You gotta see!» Shiro showed the widest smile Kairi had ever seen on her. For a moment she vanished from the screen, and the garden became an indistinct blur, then the girl stopped and sat on a bench. «Axel, Kairi, meet my mama!»

A young-looking woman, but with a solemn wisdom in her eyes, blue hair and dark clothes appeared on the screen. Her confused face became surprised when she saw the phone, but even Lea’s eyes were wide as saucers.

«Incredible! _It’s you_!»

«Do you know her?» Mickey’s voice could be heard, not too far.

«Do you remember the first time we met, here in this garden?» The woman answered him. «The Unversed tried to attack a girl. It was her!»

_Lea, Lea, there’s knights in town!_

_A pretty lady with blue hair and a big sword. Oh and there was another. Short and stumpy with the biggest ears ever!_

_They destroyed the monsters at the castle. Then Grandma came and took me home._

Lea would have _cried_. He wished he could tell the truth and pour everything out like Elsa on the top of the mountain.

Shiro had her own family back, and he wasn’t there to see it happen.

He was with what was left of _his_ , and he still had not the guts to admit it. In an idiotic mission that could be summed up as _reuniting two sisters_ after the mess that had happened to them… it was a mess indeed. The messiest mess ever.

He had entered that Guardians of Light team to rescue his best friend and keep Shiro out of trouble, but he was wondering if that was really worth it, after all.

Maybe there was no real need for him in that team.

He recognized once again the place they were in: the frozen gusts that had solidified in ice spikes on the rocks, pointing at them, like barbs to repel assailants… they were getting closer.

«I think we should hang up now,» Kairi was saying. «We’re almost there. I’ll call you later!»

She closed the call. Lea bit his lip not to sigh in relief. It would have been quite the pain when he’d have to explain Kairi all the so-called act was true… and he wasn’t ready for his sister to be mad at him, not now the “fake pretending” actually felt good.

What kind of big brother he was? In that moment, he felt much worse than Elsa, despite the Queen had run away and a simple panic attack had been enough for her to freeze a whole region.

«So, how exactly are you planning to stop this weather?» Ahead of them, Kristoff was asking Anna.

«Oh, I am gonna talk to my sister!» The princess answered him without even thinking. Lea would have wanted to smack his forehead.

«That’s your plan?» Kristoff froze on the spot at the last moment to avoid getting his nose stabbed by an icicle. «I wonder if you ever made a plan before. Anyone with half a brain would have worn some winter gear, instead of having to buy them at a higher price from that sauna swindler!»

«Well, anyone with half a life would have one friend who’s not a deer…» Anna stepped in front of him.

«I told you, I do!»

«The love experts?»

«That’s right.» Kristoff glanced at the steep rock wall in front of them. «It’s too steep. I’ve only got one rope, and you don't know how to climb mountains. Unless fire and light siblings here have some kind of ace up their sleeves…»

«No, but Elsa made an ice staircase right behind this wall.» Lea nonchalantly answered him. «I guess she can’t climb mountains, either.»

This time, Kairi and Lea led the way. They took Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven through a crevasse in the rock wall, until they arrived to the clearing where Elsa had first made the staircase, and then the castle.

Kristoff was in total awe, he even looked on the edge of tears… and most importantly, there was no sign of Larxene anywhere.

After some discussion between Kristoff and Anna, and a lot of insistence from the former, the princess entered alone. Next to Kristoff, Olaf seemed to be counting, and Lea and Kairi, getting past Sven who kept slipping on the ice steps, reached the doorway and Lea leant on the handrail.

«Sorry for the cold, Kairi, but I don’t think we can light another fire.» Lea shrugged.

«Well, give her the coat then!» Kristoff replied, sitting grumpily on a step.

«Seriously? That’s like twice her size!» Lea would have given all the ice cream in the worlds to hear what the sisters were saying, but he no longer had the ability to open a Dark Corridor to eavesdrop. And melting the wall was a no-no as well, it was the least discreet thing he could have done, and even if he had learned to become invisible in the days before leaving…

«Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty, I’m going in!» Olaf announced pushing the door open.

«Kairi, I’m going.» Lea murmured, then he turned himself invisible and entered right after the snowman. If Anna had really gotten in there without a plan, someone had to see what was going on in there, and intervene if needed.

«He’s just like the one we built as kids!» Anna was sitting at the bottom of a staircase, and she was pointing at Olaf with a hand. Elsa, with her braid down and a new dress that seemed entirely made of ice, was standing on top. «We were so close. We can be like that again!»

Elsa, despite looking more relieved than she had been the previous evening, was visibly saddened.

«Anna, what do you think happened to your hair? The white stripe?» She asked her.

«Mother said I’ve always had it…» Anna mumbled, visibly confused by that question.

«No, it was me. I _almost killed you_ , Anna, and you were only five!»

A flash crossed Lea’s mind, and for a moment he was once again a seventeen-year-old with his back against the wall, while Xehanort held up Kairi by a wrist. Had Elsa felt like that as well, when Anna had been in mortal danger?

Anna stood up and clenched her fists. «I’m not a child anymore, Elsa!»

«Neither am I!» Elsa replied. «And my powers are much stronger than they were!»

«I’m not afraid… please don’t shut me out again!» Anna started walking up the stairs, but Elsa started walking away, taking another staircase that led her even higher. «We can fix this together now I understand!»

The empty halls of the palace amplified their voices, and Lea did not follow the girls. In a place like that, he could see and hear everything even from a distance.

«Anna, _please_ , go back home. Your life awaits… go enjoy the sun, open up the gates!»

«Yeah, but Arendelle…»

«You’ll be a perfect queen.»

«Elsa, the kingdom is _frozen_!»

Elsa remained in silence… then it started snowing. _Inside_ the castle. Even Kristoff had probably noticed something was amiss, because Lea saw him rushing across the hall and taking the stairs.

Kairi entered, too, but instead of following Kristoff she stopped and started looking around for Lea.

Reluctantly, he turned visible once again.

«What happened?» Kairi asked him in a whisper.

«It went bad.» Lea pulled a face, keeping his own voice low. «I’ll be hiding somewhere in here, see if I can talk some reason into the queen. You keep an eye on the troublemaker!»

Kairi nodded, then she run upstairs after Anna and Kristoff. Lea turned invisible once again, hid in a corner and waited. Things were _really_ going as bad as he had said: not too long after, a snow colossus marched down the stairs and went outside, taking Anna, Kristoff, Kairi and Olaf in its big hands.

Lea remained waiting, in silence. The cold from the walls had started seeping through his coat, and he started feeling it on the jacket and shirt he was wearing under it… but he remained there, waiting, until he heard no more noise coming from the outside.

«Get it together… control it… don’t feel... don’t feel… _don’t FEEL_!» Elsa had started pacing up and down the hall, her hands on her head, her teeth clenched in what was definitely a bad, horrible demonstration of _not feeling_.

«DON’T FEEL!» the girl snarled again, but around her the walls had started covering in ice spikes. It was then Lea decided to turn visible again.

«You know, I tried that when I was your sister’s age. It doesn’t work. Not even having your heart torn out really works.» He commented.

Elsa screamed in fear and raised her hands at him. A gush of icy air and frost shot out at him, but Lea expected that and had already summoned his Keyblade. A small flare turned the ice into steam.

«Before you call for Marshmallow out there, I’m not here to hurt you. And you _cannot_ hurt _me_ , like I think I just demonstrated you.» Lea raised his shoulders. «My sister Kairi and I are looking for a girl… one whose heart has an incommensurable power… because out there, there’s bad people after her.»

«You mean Anna?» Elsa lowered her arms to her chest, as if trying to protect herself.

«No, Elsa, _you_.» Lea pulled the phone out of his pocket with his free hand. Now Kairi was far, maybe it would have worked… and it did – the signal was very strong. «Your power is not just ice, just like mine is not just fire.»

The queen remained in silence, looking at Lea, visibly lost.

That was it. Now Lea was alone and he had to play all of his cards. But, somehow, he could feel closer to that girl. He, too, would have wanted to toss his coat aside, along with his dark secrets, to finally live his life as a free man.

«You and I are much alike. Anna says you always shut her out… I thought I had lost my own sister for eleven years. And she… she has no memory of her own childhood with me.»

«What?» For a moment, Elsa seemed calmer, but it was a fleeting semblance. «I’ve seen her treating you as family!»

«It’s an act to her, and she thinks it is for me as well.» Lea dismissed his Keyblade and looked down at his boots. «And, not recognizing her… I tried to harm her several weeks ago. I know how you’re feeling, Elsa, because I’m carrying my own monsters within myself.» He looked up once again. «Anna is right. You have to get back to Arendelle… to stand by her. You can’t stay alone, not out here where you’re in danger!»

«I’d put in danger _her_.» Elsa hissed.

«So what now? Do you keep on running? How far do you think you’ll go… and would this carry the storm with you, or only make it bigger?» Lea started walking in circles around her.

«What about you, when your sister will find out you lied to her?» Elsa replied to him. «You’re right. We’re alike. You’re as much a hypocrite as I am!»

She threw more ice at him, this time icicles, almost in shape of darts. Lea melted them again with another flare.

«No longer afraid of hurting people?» Lea smirked. «Because I think _that_ was on purpose.»

«It was.» Elsa replied to him in a flat tone. «Is it enough or do you want more?»

«Don’t worry, I can go on all day. My sister will be keeping yours safe… until your return.» Lea spun his Keyblade in his hand as he would have done once with his frisbees. «But think about it. Why have you started charging your powers before hitting me? Do you think your ice doesn’t harm me? Well, I think your powers think so, at least. It’s your head that dominates everything, Elsa, and your heart as well. Like my own head and my own heart dominate my magic, and Kairi’s. This snow is what _you_ think can be, and it will be what you think can become.»

« _What_?» Elsa didn’t seem to understand… or maybe she did.

«Elsa, since when you think your ice can be a danger to anyone?» Lea lowered his arms and dismissed his Keyblade once again. «Since when you’re afraid you’re the monster?»

Yeah, he and that girl were kindred spirits. Lea would have wanted _so bad_ to answer himself to his own question. He only remembered… he only remembered it was about Roxas, he remembered the moment in which he had saved him by a trap Xemnas had set on him… he remembered doing something for which he could not forgive himself… and it had been because of that. Roxas had run away.

He, too, had closed a door between himself _and his family_. So why he had forgotten… and _what_?

«Elsa… let it go. Both you and I have to… we have to finish this sad story.» Imitating her gesture of the previous night, Lea opened the zipper of his black coat and tossed it aside, remaining with only his jacket, shirt, and trousers. It was supposed to be a trust gesture, but Elsa stiffened… and Lea was about to start asking himself what he had done wrong when he heard noise from outside. Someone was coming… and they seemed to be many armed men.

«I’ll stand by you, Elsa. I’m ready to help.» He turned his gaze to the door, and summoned again Flame Liberator to his hand. «But you have to keep your head high up, and fix what you’ve done.»

Through the transparent door, Lea could see guards clothed in uniforms that were not Arendelle’s, along with Prince Hans, attacking the same snow monsters that had taken Anna and Kairi out.

They still were on time – the both of them – to save the people they loved.

* * *

Sora dropped himself on the Gummiship seat and clenched his fists so his hands could stop shaking.

Aqua’s hypothesis was right – _it was Vanitas, he was alive_ and free to go around, and who knew for how long he had used the machines in Monstropolis to feed on negativity like a vampire.

“ _I don’t… I don’t understand_.” Ventus was just as dismayed as Sora was. “ _I sacrificed myself so I could take care of him. Our fates are, like, double-locked. If I’m not awake… if I’m not myself… how can it be he is now?_ ”

“ _Last minute news, Ventus. THE ORGANIZATION CHEATS_.” Roxas replied to him. “ _We had to expect that. Your friend was right._ ”

Sora hinted at a smile and was about to say something to the two, but Roxas spoke first.

“ _Remind me to never see one of those stinking black coats again once I’m outta here. If I end up wearing one, I take it off and I burn it._ ”

«Yeah, go tell that to Lea.» Sora sat up and caught his breath a little. That odd joke had somewhat fixed his mood.

«Humpf! I’ve had enough of your _soliloquies_.» Donald commented from behind him. «Do you want to take off or do I have to fly the ship?»

Sora shrugged and left the driver’s seat, then he pointed at the trapdoor that led to the bunks to let his friends know he’d go lie down for a minute. It had been so close… just moments before… he had almost lost Ventus.

Vanitas’s plan had been almost perfect – he had sent them running all over Monsters Inc., attacked them with a huge-ass Unversed, and then attacked them _again_ at the starting point, this time alone. And, despite Ventus had actually recognized the trap, they had had no other choice but going on ahead – the lives of the monsters working there, and of an innocent toddler girl, had been put on jeopardy.

“ _We couldn’t do much else. It was lucky that Vanitas did not realize he was a human boy, in a place where monsters used to SCARE humans._ ” Ventus commented again while Sora threw himself on the middle bunk.

«I don’t know about you, but this time the human was scarier than the monsters.» Sora joked again.

“ _Well, what makes a monster and what makes a man_?” Roxas was surely smiling.

“ _We have to get back to Aqua._ ” Ventus stated. “ _Breaking a door won’t stop Vanitas. He can travel the Lanes Between with no kind of protection_.”

Under them, they could hear the buzzing of the engines. The ship had started moving, and catching speed.

Sora closed his eyes, and tried to imagine Ventus laying in the bunk over his, and Roxas in the lowest one. Maybe it was just a matter of time, and he would have no longer had to pretend.

«Ven… I think it’s time to go home.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think you saw quotes from the Frozen musical, that's because I (Beater) watched a few scenes on YT studying for my Scenography exam. And I thought it would be cool to put them.
> 
> Riku's talk with Aqua wasn't planned, but it was slightly inspired by a time I was walking to Art School with a writer's block about Larxene and "I won't say I'm in love" came on Spotify. Thus I texted Miraha and "let's write a scene in which Aqua gives Riku the Talk!"
> 
> Aaaaand off we go to wake up Ventus!


	6. Let the Sun Shine On

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we know, that was fast AND despite Melody of Memory (Beater played, Miraha didn't, but that story won't consider that game). What can we say? Sometimes the muse actually agrees with us writing!

The sky above them was dark and full of clouds, and for how bleak the landscape looked around them, Sora could have thought he was in the Dark Realm once again. Yet, in front of him, Donald and Goofy, Aqua was walking with her head held high.

Shiro and Riku were closing the group, the boy behind the girl. They both were moving as if they knew the place as well, which was probably true.

«We have _all_ been here, Sora, you just forgot.» Riku commented. «Naminé had to erase your memory of this place because your mind had become a literal mess.»

“ _This place is creepy as shit…_ ” Roxas commented in Sora’s head. “ _You lose your way… you lose your direction… I even managed to lose consciousness. Castle Oblivion, we used to call it. Xemnas was looking for something in here._ ”

Aqua stopped in front of the door and summoned Master’s Defender in her hand. The building was engulfed by light, and bright silhouettes appeared on the walls. As if they were following a blueprint, the towers rearranged themselves, the walls turning white, and _finally_ the twilit desert around them became a green lawn, and the sky was filled with sunlight.

“ _Wait, is this how Castle Oblivion really looks?_ ” Roxas exclaimed in disbelief.

“ _Oblivion_?” Ventus, who had remained in silence until then, finally had something to say. “ _No, man… this is home._ ”

Sora looked around – he recognized that place. He had seen the mountains in Shiro’s dream – he still remembered Ephemer standing on one of the stone walls – and the open space in front of the castle… _he had seen it in one of his own dreams_!

«Aqua, have you ever heard about Keyblade wielders having prophetic dreams?» Sora asked, trying to appear as calm and detached as he could.

«You have to ask Ventus this question.» Aqua opened the door, hinting at a grin. «He would ask questions out of the blue, usually right after we all woke up. Sometimes we could spend more than an hour making conjectures and trying to put the pieces together.»

“… _and most of the times I ended up with more questions than answers_.” Ventus finished the sentence, and Sora felt a lump in his throat.

Shiro passed in front of him as they crossed the doorway, visibly eager to see again what had been her home as a baby. A corridor filled with sunlight was in front of them, and above it, a balcony that according to Ventus’s memories was part of a great hall.

«If this was a school, it doesn’t look like the junior high at the Garden. Nor the high. When I see Yuna and the twins I have to tell them everything about it.» Shiro commented making a few steps in the hallway, before everyone else.

«Don’t get too far, Shiro.» Aqua reached her and took her hand. The noise of their steps on the marble floor and their voices echoed in the empty hallway. On the bottom of a wall, some colorful marks, probably left by a crayon, and Sora could even see the crayons, scattered on the floor, some broken in half.

«This place feels weird,» Sora confessed, pulling a face. «It almost seems time has stopped, here.»

“ _Don’t even mention it, Sora. I used to live here._ ” Ventus replied.

They crossed the hallway until they got to a staircase, and the staircase led to the hall. It immediately reminded Sora of the cathedral in Paris – the vibe of the building was the same, the spacious hall and the colorful light coming from the outside.

«Riku… doesn’t this remind you of Notre Dame?» He turned to his friend with a smile. «What a _sight_!»

Riku, who was the last to enter, threw a glance to the dais, looking worried.

«Yeah… the cathedral.» He commented with a grimace.

«What’s wrong?» Shiro turned to him.

«Don’t know. Something smells in here.» Riku shook his head, still looking around.

«Could it be darkness?» Sora crossed his arms behind his head. «It’s OK, Riku, there’s, like, one, two, three, four, five, _six_ of us. It won’t be too much trouble.»

They ran to the dais, the noise of their steps multiplied by the echoes of the hall.

Ventus _was there_ , sleeping on one of the thrones, as if he was doing nothing more than taking an afternoon nap in the warm sunlight from the windows.

«You know what to do, Sora.» Riku patted him on the back, gently pushing him forward.

«Here we are, Ven.» Sora went up the steps and stopped in front of the boy’s sleeping body. «We finally meet.»

“ _Yeah, let’s do the talking when I’m up, though._ ”

«Sora, _come on_!» Riku hissed.

Sora summoned his Keyblade – he had obtained another Keyholder in Monstropolis, but he had decided to switch back to Kingdom Key for a while – and was about to close his eyes and focus when he could hear the echo of approaching steps once again.

Riku was even faster and immediately span on his heels, summoning Way to the Dawn in his hand.

«That was a neat trick.»

It was Vanitas’s voice.

«No wonder no one could find him!»

Aqua instinctively stood in front of Shiro, but Donald and Goofy stood in the middle.

«You take care of him! We can watch over Shiro!» the magician squawked.

«Oh, am I disturbing?» Vanitas kept walking unperturbed to the dais. «Surely you won’t begrudge me a moment with my brother?»

The group immediately surrounded the throne, Sora and Shiro the closest, the former in front of Ventus’s knees and the latter clutching the armrest. Shiro, in particular, was visibly scowling at Vanitas, as if she knew what to expect from him. _Or Ephemer did_?

«Sora, you heard Riku, _come on_!» Shiro pulled on Sora’s jacket, and the boy suspected even more Ephemer’s influence on her actions.

Sora did not want to turn his back on the enemy, but Donald and Goofy stood in front of him and Shiro. Riku and Aqua left the dais, their blades charged at the intruder.

Sora took a breath… he felt Ventus’s worry adding up to his own… but there was no time to waste… he turned and closed his eyes.

_It was dark around them_.

Sora was standing on his Station to Awakening.

And Ventus was there, standing in front of him.

«I imagined this moment would have been different.» Sora admitted.

There was silence around them, but the noise from the hallway still came to them, like a distant echo.

Ventus shrugged and forced a chuckle. «Welcome to my life, I guess.»

«Stay ready. I’m about to let go.» Sora raised the Kingdom Key, then he pointed it to the glass beneath their feet. Ventus turned around and took a run-up to the edge.

Ventus started running, without turning back. He could see in the corner of his eye a white light behind him, silhouettes of birds in flight… he kept running and the light invaded his whole field of view… he could no longer see anything but white.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath…

… and jumped.

Ventus immediately felt _heavy_ , as if something was squeezing him. Something within him seemed to _click_ , like an instinct, and he finally felt his ribcage going up and down, faster and faster.

He was about to panic when he realized he was simply _breathing_.

He was sitting on something, hard, wood maybe. He made an effort to open his eyes, and a warm, calloused hand held his own.

«Are you OK?» Sora was in front of him, and at his left, Shiro was clutching his arm. The girl didn’t even seem to know what to say, and she was giving glances at him, and then at the center of the hall…

… Vanitas was still there, and Aqua and Riku were resisting, but they were visibly tired. Their wounds had been cured, but they still were in no condition to fight for long.

There was no time to think.

He shook Sora and Shiro off – he’d apologize later – pulled his feet up on the throne and bent his legs to properly jump into action, summoning Wayward Wind while he was still in midair.

With the air whistling in his ears, he could hardly hear Sora mumbling: «What the…?», then he landed on the floor with a backflip and squeezed himself between Aqua and Vanitas just as the latter was about to do a downward slash, knocking his blade away with a blow from the right.

«Didn’t you learn anything from last time?» He taunted Vanitas while the masked boy was knocked back. «Lay a hand on my friends and… you’re… _dead_!»

He took a moment to catch his breath. It all felt familiar and alien at the same time… he was _himself_ again, what he felt was his… the shortness of breath, the blood pumping in his ears, the marble under his feet, the weight of his Keyblade in his hand…

«Do you really think you can kill me?» Vanitas stood up again. He seemed unharmed, but Ventus could see a crack in his mask. «That you _will_ kill me, you idiot? I thought you were supposed to be pure light.»

Ventus didn’t grant him the pleasure of an answer, and restricted himself to spinning the Keyblade in his hand. He had already tried once, and he did not need to point that out. He had already tried once… and _succeeded_.

If the Organization was really cheating as Roxas had said, he only had to know how this Vanitas was still living and breathing – his own trick would have led him to ruin _without_ taking Ventus along. Or, if their bond was really broken…

«Well, I don’t want to know what could happen against four Guardians of Light,» Vanitas scornfully shook his head, and a Dark Corridor opened under his feet. «So long, _brother_.»

He vanished without another word.

Sora and Shiro ran to Ventus, stopping when they reached his side. He turned to them and ran a hand through his hair.

«I’m so sorry about the shoving. I had to make it fast.»

Neither Sora nor Shiro seemed to be offended – Sora was actually smiling. After a tiny moment of embarrass, Shiro instead squeezed him in a hug.

«Uncle Ven! Uncle Ven is here!»

«Now here’s my bub!» Ventus returned the hug and lifted her up a few inches. He did not recall ever lifting up kids that big… «Oh noes, I can’t pick you up anymore!» He didn’t think he’d actually get tired, but he let her go.

«I’ll outgrow you soon!» Shiro giggled.

«Keep telling yourself that and maybe you will in your dreams!» Ventus fixed his hair with a hand and looked at the other people in the room. Donald and Goofy had not changed at all, and he knew Riku because of Sora… he felt a little in embarrass in front of him, Riku was actually sixteen and Ventus hardly reached his ears… he had so much to say, so much to fix, and he could even feel his stomach grumbling (there had always been a jar of trail mix in the kitchen, would it be still full…?).

«Ven, what’s the matter?» Aqua asked him. _As usual_. For her, his face had always been an open book.

So much the better if he came immediately clear – what he had told her in the Dark Realm, with Sora’s voice, didn’t quite count to him.

«Aqua, I just wanted to say… I am sorry.» He was tempted to look down, but he kept his head up high, looking in her eyes. «I’m sorry for everything.»

Aqua approached him and put a hand on his head.

«It’s alright, sleepyhead. You’re here. _We’re home_.»

* * *

Lea leant with his back on one of the houses. After Elsa had decided to surrender herself to the men who had come to the castle to look for her sister, prince Hans – Lea had liked him less and less every moment he had spent in his sight – had dismissed him with a handshake and _warmly_ recommended him to go into the borough and help the townspeople, and he’d handle the Queen and keep her safe.

Lea would have opposed himself, but the last thing he wanted to do – especially after convincing Elsa _not to show hostility_ so people wouldn’t fear her more – was to put himself in a bad light. If he was free to come and go, he would have also been free to intervene if things went wrong again.

_And he had the feeling they would_ , but until he had no news of Kairi, Kristoff and Anna all he could do was to wait. Helping the people of Arendelle wouldn’t hurt – what kind of Guardian of Light would he be, if he left people in danger?

He had just finished lighting fires in strategic points of the borough, then he had found a secluded place and opened his phone. He hoped for that weird winter to end, for Elsa and Anna to reconcile… he only wanted to go home and see Shiro and tell her all that story as if it was nothing but an old fairy tale…

… _no, wait_ , Shiro had her mother now.

Hang on, what about the golden-haired boy in her latest picture…? Lea flipped back to the previous picture… he had thought he had seen Roxas… no, _not Roxas, VENTUS_ , the tag on the picture said Ventus, they had found Ventus and the boy had not changed one bit!

«Kristoff, I still think we should go back to the castle.»

_Kairi_? Was she in town? What was she doing in town? He had told her to keep an eye on Anna…!

«What…?» The mountain man’s voice seemed annoyed, almost angry.

«Listen, my brother asked us to keep an eye on Anna, and I don’t want to explain all of this to him, we already fight too much without being in situations like this.» Kairi replied, and Lea flattened himself against the wall. _At least_ , she had objected to leaving Anna at the castle. «And that Hans guy… I have a bad feeling about him.»

«Anna says she loves him.» Kristoff mumbled.

«And does he love her? I don’t think he would have let her go up the mountain _alone_.» Kairi replied again.

«Well, do you have any better idea?» Kristoff snorted. «You heard the trolls, her heart is _freezing_. Only an act of true love can save her. Had it happened to you, who would you have thought of?»

«It did happen to me… something similar. I was not even fourteen years old, I wasn’t dating anyone and I still am not. It was my two best friends who saved me, and they both risked their lives to do so. Sora was only fourteen, and Riku fifteen, and yet they both put their lives on the line so I could get away from the same people who are threatening Elsa now. It’s probably the closest thing to an act of true love I could think of.»

_Do you know what love is?_

_Love is what happens when there’s something really special between people…_

Lea’s thoughts went back to that night in Ansem’s castle – when he had asked Kairi to barricade herself in the library and she had _gone after him instead_ , facing Xehanort with a crayon in her hand in the attempt to save _him_. It also came to his memories the time Shiro had almost summoned the Keyblade for the first time, in the sandlot, trying to prevent Roxas from being attacked.

The Dark Corridor, the explosion, saving Sora and Roxas from a certain death.

«Kairi is right.» He said, turning around the corner. «It’s much more complex than it looks. Kristoff, you took Anna up the mountain and now you took her home…»

«And also to the forest trolls to try to break the curse…» Kairi folded her arms. «Lea. What about Elsa? Did you talk to her?»

«Hans took her back to the castle.» Lea looked down. «I convinced her to stop running… _maybe_ … but right now I feel like an idiot.» He shoved some snow away from a bench and sat down.

«Well, you ditched that coat of yours somewhere now it’s really cold, so I won’t contradict you.» Kristoff scratched his head. _Pot, kettle, black_. Lea could not see his hat. Well, it didn’t matter. He finished cleaning the bench, then he lit a small fire in front of his feet.

_Elsa was right_ – if secrets had really only harmed her and Anna, for Lea and Kairi it was the same. If he had only imagined, if he had only _known_ , that the girl adopted by the mayor, Sora’s best friend, was the biting little terror he had believed lost forever, much of the hurt he had been through would have not been that bad.

If the truth could have hurt him, anyway, that couldn’t have been much worse than keeping that poison within.

«Kairi, could you please sit down here? I don’t know if what I’m about to say might hurt you.» The icy wind kept blowing around them, but the heat of the flame almost created a sort of bubble. Even Kristoff and Sven were approaching the fire, but Lea decided to let them. He’d answer their questions, if he needed to.

«Listen, Lea, I have something important to say as well.»

«Fine, but me first. I haven’t been honest with you. I should have told you everything since the first day in the forest, when we got to know each other.»

«Wait, you two told me you were siblings!» Kristoff objected.

Lea would have expected _anything_ as Kairi’s reply, anything but her saying: «That’s the point. We _are_!»

«Wait, _what_?» Lea shook his head. He looked in Kairi’s eyes, in a plea for explanations. Was she still acting… or did she really know it to be true?

Kairi put a hand in a pocket of her dress, pulling an old photograph out of it. It was Grandma’s backyard, their huge old snowman. The two of them, in front of Dad’s old swing, Kairi looking tinier than ever in his hand-me-down winter coat.

«Edith Hightower. That was Grandma’s name, wasn’t it?» Kairi clenched a corner of the picture as her hand started shaking. «She worked at the castle library. The neighbors had a son your age, his name was Zack. My best friend at kindergarten was named Yuna. She still remembers me.»

She closed her eyes and took a breath.

«Did you forget me?»

«No… _I thought I had lost you_.» Lea put his elbows on his knees and hid his face with his hands. «The first time, when the last thing I saw was Xehanort holding you by the wrist. The second, when I found out you were alive and you hated me.»

«Why didn’t you tell me?» Kairi asked him, her eyes filling with tears.

«Would you have wanted such a _blockhead_ as family?»

Kairi was about to say something, but a gust of wind stronger than the others put out the flame keeping them all warm. Kristoff was the first to turn to the castle.

«What the… _Anna_!»

Lea and Kairi sprang to their feet right after him, Kairi shoving the picture in a pocket of her dress. The storm was growing stronger… it was colder by the minute…

«Something must have gone wrong. _Again_!» Lea tried to figure out the direction of the wind – it seemed to be coming from the castle, or maybe the fjord. «Elsa probably ran off. Or was scared by something.»

«Or probably both!» Kairi replied, running ahead. «That Hans guy… I don’t think his intentions were good! And you said _he_ did bring Elsa back to the castle?»

She pulled up the hood of her dress, despite the wind kept tearing it away from her head.

«Think about it for a moment, Lea. A foreign prince who suddenly starts courting a princess who _isn’t exactly good with people_. And now he’s got both girls in his hands!»

«No time to waste. _Let’s go!_ » Kristoff mounted on Sven’s back and they galloped towards the castle. Lea and Kairi summoned their Keyblades and ran after him. The snow was getting taller, and several times Lea had to cast a flare in front of them so he could dig through it and they’d have an easier time running… it was harder and harder to look ahead, the wind their only cue to go ahead.

«Take my hand, Kairi, we can’t get lost in this storm!» Lea told her at a point, passing Flame Liberator from his right hand to his left. Everything felt muffled – the noise, the land around them, they could see nothing but white, and some indistinct shadows in the distance.

_Just how terrified was the Queen_?

They only knew they were on the fjord when they felt _ice_ under their feet, and not the snow.

«Stay close, Kairi, stay close.» Lea would have never forgiven himself, had she gotten hurt again on his watch.

Kairi clutched his hand and stuck closer to him. She was visibly shaking, but hearing a voice carried by the wind, Lea understood it wasn’t cold, it was _fear_.

«Your sister? She returned from the mountain weak and cold. She said you froze her heart.»

The Keyblade wielders recognized the voice. It was Hans. _Just what had happened_?

«What? No!» That was Elsa.

«I tried to save her, but it was too late. Her skin was ice. Her hair turned white. _Your sister is dead because of you!_ »

«You foul…!» Kairi hissed between her teeth. «She thought you’d save her!» She had probably resolved her suspects were founded.

The snow suddenly stopped, and it was dead calm again. Without Elsa’s fear and panic, the cold wind had stopped.

_And now the Queen did not feel a thing_.

«LIAR!» Kairi let go of Lea’s hand and pointed the Keyblade at the traitor prince. But they were too far, too far compared to the scarce distance between Hans and Elsa.

Lea looked around… _no_ , he could not use fire. _Too close_. He would have only harmed Elsa…

… _and Anna_?

Anna was there, a few steps behind them! She seemed hardly capable of moving, but she was there… he started running, took Kairi’s hand again, maybe they were still on time, maybe they could _buy_ them time… Hans was about to raise his sword on Elsa…

… _Anna was faster_. She leapt forward, one hand reached out to stop the blade, but something was going horribly wrong, why was she looking so blue…?, and why was she so rigid, and she was _literally freezing solid in front of them_!

For a moment, it seemed the sword had bounced off on the princess’s frozen hand, but a second later it shattered for the cold, and the force of the blow sent Hans flying backwards. Elsa seemed to notice what had just happened and burst into tears, clutching her sister’s frozen body.

Lea was about to run to her, but Kairi stopped him. She was biting her lip.

«Yen Sid’s going to kill us after such a failure.» Lea commented in a whisper. «That if Aqua doesn’t first.»

«No, no, it can’t be!» Kairi shook her head. «It had to be an act of true love, _that was supposed to be an act of true love_!»

«What?» Lea turned his head to her.

«It cannot end like this.» The girl clutched his hand in hers.

«It’s just life, Kai.» Lea hugged her with one arm, the silence around them only broken by Elsa’s sobs. «When you were five… you did the same thing, for me. Xehanort had attacked everyone in the castle, starting from the apprentices. I had managed to barricade you and Grandma in the library… or so it seemed to me, I don’t know if the doors would have resisted. Isa and I went looking for Shiro, but Xehanort cornered us. I didn’t know then, but you followed me.» He took a moment to catch his breath. «You started tossing your crayons at him. You yelled at him to let me go, and you even bit his hand. The last thing I saw was him holding you in the air by the wrist.»

He felt the air getting knocked out of his lungs when Kairi returned his hug, squeezing him tight.

« _I’m sorry_ ,» she murmured pressing her face on his clothes, and Lea said nothing, looking up a little, and… _what was going on over there_?

« _Kairi_!» Lea tapped her on the shoulder. «Turn around… you gotta see this!»

It was Anna. She was no longer trapped in ice – she was alive and well, and she was embracing her sister.

Kairi shook her head and her eyes went wide, she looked relieved but maybe too surprised for words.

«You sacrificed yourself for me?» Elsa was asking her little sister, stepping back from the hug. Kristoff, Sven and Olaf had reached them on the frozen sea.

«… I love you.» Anna took her sister’s hands.

* * *

He opened his eyes. _Just… where was he_?

He was laying on his back, on what had to be the softest bed he had ever slept on in years, and he felt a pillow under his head and blankets over his body.

Everything was heavy. His head, arms, legs… even his eyelids.

_This, on top of everything else_ … he only wanted to aim his fist on a wall, but that seemed to be far beyond his possibilities, in that moment.

«You awake?» A gruff, tired voice came from the other corner of the room. A man covered by a coat that reached his ankles, with wavy white hair partially concealed by a wide-brimmed hat and the face covered by a bristly stubble hobbled towards him. «I thought no one appeared anymore in Traverse Town… let alone boys your age. Consider yourself lucky my nephew is somewhat older than you. I managed to scavenge some of his old clothes.»

The man had probably had red hair once, but it had gone white with age. A thud on the floor revealed the presence of a walking stick.

«Who… _are you_?» If there was something he had to do, it was to find out what had just happened to him – and all his efforts went into breathing out those three words. Starting from the identity of his unsuspecting rescuer, he could put the pieces together and vanish.

«A man of no consequence. Get some rest now, or I’ll make you.»

* * *

Kairi was the first to get out of the Gummiship. The place of which they had received coordinates from Sora and Riku was a castle in the mountains, lit by the light of moon and stars. A gentle breeze made ripples in the grass, and the air was pervaded by the scent of autumn.

Lea had mumbled something about a Castle Oblivion, but that was maybe the thing that could have looked the least like it. No, that place almost looked like a temple… or maybe a temple of knowledge.

«Now, let’s be prepared for everyone’s faces when it’s our turn to explain things.» Lea gave her a pat on the shoulder. «Phew… how many times will I have to repeat it for everyone to get it memorized?»

«What happened with Elsa and Anna as well. By the way, I would have expected for that Larxene to show herself again. That she’d try to put her hands on them or something.» Kairi fixed her dress with a hand.

«She’d have no reason to.» Lea stuck his hands in his pockets. «Aqua is back home, and if Kingstagram is saying the truth, Ventus as well. I suppose we have our Seven Lights. By the way, are you quite sure of your hypothesis? We have a report to do, sis.»

As they approached the main door, the only noise around them was the chirping of crickets, and fireflies were floating in the lawn.

«Of course I am, Lea. Anna may not be wielding magic, but I’ve seen her inner strength. You’ve seen her, too, the way she carries herself.» Kairi put a hand on the portal. «And Ienzo found no more Princesses on the map. It _might_ be the seventh is out of charted space, but then _why_ was the signal from Arendelle twice as bright? Remember? We’re talking about a girl who stands out. I think Anna perfectly matches that description.»

She pushed the door and entered. The hallway in front of them was warmly lit, even if there were no lights or lamps Kairi could see, and from the upper floor she could hear the voice of a woman speaking. The siblings followed the hallway until they found a staircase, and they went up to it until a hall, in which a group of people seemed busy taking stock of a situation.

«… now, the New Seven Hearts should be covered, now we’re seven the Darknesses won’t be going after them. But if the news from Yen Sid and Ienzo are true, and _they_ still don’t have their number thirteen, we can make an effort to buy us more time, so we can get there at the best of our strength and knowledge.» Shiro’s mother, Master Aqua, was standing at the margin of an imaginary circle, while all the others were sitting on pillows on the floor.

«Do you have a plan, Aqua?» King Mickey was sitting between Goofy and Riku, diametrically opposite to her.

«After listening to all of this story, I’ve come to think that, whoever this mysterious person may be, they’re the one the Organization could be after.» The Master put a lock of her hair behind her ear. Near her, a golden-haired boy Kairi had never seen before was fumbling about a jar of cookies. He pulled one out and stuffed it in his mouth.

Shiro, sitting on Aqua’s left, glared at him and pleaded: «I want one, please Uncle!»

«Okay, bub, stay sharp!» The boy pulled another cookie from the jar and gently tossed it into Shiro’s waiting hands. The flash of a camera could be heard, and Kairi couldn’t help giggling as she saw Sora, sitting almost opposite to the boy, taking a picture with his cell phone.

«Careful, Ven.» Aqua glared at the boy on her right, but she was smiling.

«So, we need someone who could help Ienzo to recover some lost memories…» Sora put the phone down. «Not me, I guess. I can’t computer.»

«No way, that should be Axel. He has to know the person we’re talking about, too!» Shiro reproached him, then she looked up – she had seen them. «AXEL! AXEL IS HOME!»

She sprang to her feet and ran out of the circle through a gap between Riku and Ventus. She arrived at them and threw herself in Lea’s arms.

«Hey there, ’Shroom!» Lea picked her up. «So, have you been a good girl this time?»

«Any doubts? You know I am!» Shiro let him go, and Kairi could see her blushing. «Uncle Ven gave me a cookie, and… look! He looks like Roxas!»

Lea was about to say something when Sora and Riku, too, crossed the room, playfully punching and elbowing each other. Riku had parts of his arms covered in gauze, but Sora, too, seemed visibly tired. Kairi ran to them and tackled them both in a hug.

«You just won’t believe everything that happened!» She told them as they returned the hug.

«Spill the beans then!» Riku tickled her with a hand.

Even Ventus, the newcomer, had approached them, and was looking curiously at Lea. Kairi couldn’t help seeing her brother almost _sad_ in returning the look… then Ventus spoke.

«Hey there, Lea.»

Lea almost leapt backwards.

«You _remember me_?»

«Yeah, ‘course! We’re friends!» Ventus raised his shoulders and smiled. «I can’t believe you became a Keyblade wielder just like me!»

Lea heaved a sigh and smiled.

«Oho! Look who’s got new clothes!» Sora let Riku and Kairi go and looked at Lea. «Say, Kairi, who convinced him to ditch the black coat?»

Aqua had to call them back all to the pillows a couple of times before they all agreed to go back, and Kairi and Lea took their places in the gap between Riku and Ventus. Sora become pale like a ghost and started gasping like a goldfish when Lea admitted him and Kairi to be siblings, and Kairi wondered if the reaction was actually his or if Roxas was interfering.

« _Come on_ , Sora, you know them both and you never noticed the resemblance?» Ventus commented while laughing, then Aqua took the floor again.

«Now, as we were saying before Lea and Kairi got here, we have three trails on which we can slow down the Organization and buy time so we won’t get there unprepared.» The Master was the only one standing despite she had recommended for the two siblings to sit. «The first is the person no one remembers. We have to know who they are, and to do so we need someone who might have known them. Lea, you’re our man. Second, in two worlds not too far from Arendelle and Monstropolis there have been signaled dark presences. In one there’s been a massive Heartless attack, while in another two Organization members have been signaled… of which, Ienzo has identified one as Vexen, so it could also be a chance of rescuing Roxas. Any volunteers?»

* * *

Terra’s room had not changed at all.

The double bed was still on the right side of the room, under the huge window with a view on the gardens. There were old pictures on the wall – in one Terra was probably six, and his smile was missing two front teeth, in another it was his first day training with Aqua, and one not too far was a copy of the same picture Ventus had in _his_ room of Terra lifting him up like a sack, at ages twelve and sixteen. In the most recent, Terra was kneeling in the great hall, and baby Shiro was walking towards him.

Ventus’s hand brushed against the doorjamb. There were notches, like in his room, but they went from much lower to much higher compared to his. He could see Master Eraqus’s handwriting on the bottom ones.

The bed was unmade, there was a pair of discarded socks on the floor that still smelled like stinky feet, and – Aqua would _kill_ him, had she seen that – a book about magic, still opened, with a _dog-ear_ on one of the pages.

Night had fallen over the castle, but Ventus could not sleep. The morning after he was supposed to leave along with Sora – he’d go with him to try and catch Vexen so they could set Roxas free – but he felt almost afraid of going to bed. He had not even gone back to his room ever since he had opened his eyes.

_He had not gone back there ever since Vanitas had gotten in there to threaten him_.

He understood Aqua’s reasoning, her intention to buy time so they’d be as ready as possible on the day of the battle, but on the other side, the thought that _buying time_ also meant leaving Terra for longer in Xehanort’s clutches was a mere torture.

How long would that last?

He didn’t want to act like a kid – he was almost twenty-seven, he was in the body of a sixteen-years-old and _he even was short for his age_ , all things said and done, and he still felt black holes in his memories – but in that moment all he would have wanted was for his best friend – his brother – to enter that room, grab him, scratch his head with his knuckles, and tell him that everything would be alright.

«Ven?»

A voice from the hallway made him turn on his heels. It was Aqua.

«I can’t sleep.» Ventus immediately said. It wasn’t even a lie. Aqua gave him an understanding smile.

«What about a cocoa? I don’t feel like going to bed either.»

Ventus did not answer, but he nodded and followed Aqua to the kitchen. He could hear Riku snoring loudly from one of the empty rooms they had cleaned up for their guests. He had insisted on sleeping with Sora and Kairi, which had left Ventus a little confused at first – wouldn’t Kairi want to share with her brother instead?

«Aqua, why does everything feel so wrong?» Ventus finally found the bravery to ask, as soon as they were out of reach from anyone else’s ears.

«This place is full of memories,» the older wielder told the boy. «And the last memory we had of here are maybe even worse. Ven… when we came back here, my worst fears had become real. I didn’t even know if I could hope to talk to you again one day, like I am doing right now.»

Ventus made an effort to smile.

Even the kitchen seemed unchanged since the day of the exam, apart from the jar of cookies Ventus and Shiro had raided a few hours before. Ventus immediately took the stool from the corner it had always been in and found the cocoa jar on a shelf, while Aqua looked for the milk in the fridge and started heating it up.

A lifetime before, Terra had been in that picture, looking for marshmallows in another cupboard and _complaining_ he didn’t know how the two of them could put sugar in their cocoa and then fill it up with something that “was basically just more sugar”.

«It feels almost strange to be home again. We’ve come without this for so long.» Ventus admitted when the cocoa was ready, taking his mug and sitting at his usual chair at the table.

«I know.» Aqua replied, taking her seat. Her gaze went to Shiro’s old highchair, in a corner of the room – that thing had to go. And they had to get more chairs for all the others…

«I remember dreaming a lot before I started seeing with Sora’s eyes.» Ventus stared at the steam coming out of his mug. «Of you, Terra and Shiro, of Sora, and his friends too. And there were more people I didn’t recognize… but now I think one of them was Ephemer. I’ll have to tell you about him someday. He says he was my childhood friend… and that I’ve changed. A lot.»

He looked up.

«Probably for the better.»

Aqua picked up her mug, but she did not drink, either.

«Soon, things will be back to normal,» she reassured him with a smile.

Ventus knew her too well not to know she was saying those things so he’d feel better. He looked at his cocoa again and started drinking, then he got a spoon and tried to catch the marshmallows before they melted.

«What would the Master say if he could see me now?»

Aqua looked up, and what could have probably been a serious answer was intercepted by a laugh.

«He’d say that’s the dirtiest face he had ever seen, Ven!» Aqua covered her mouth as she laughed.

«Huh?» Ventus tried to look at his reflection in the spoon, then he decided to forget it and grabbed a napkin to wipe himself clean. When he felt sure he was done, Aqua pointed at the tip of her nose to signal him where _he was still dirty_.

Maybe things wouldn’t come back the way they had been, but they were home once again. Soon _everything_ would be over, and Ventus would have done whatever it’d take to bring Terra home. And a new normal would come – yeah, their best memories _were_ still ahead.

«Let’s share stories when Terra’s back.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About that snippet in Traverse Town... if you've been careful you might know who were those two people!


	7. Of Will and Lost Causes

The sky was grey, and the sea was rough.

There probably was a coming storm, but all the sailors on the ship seemed intentioned to go on and finish their course. Ventus would have dared to say they were sailing… as if some sort of demon itself was on their heels?

«You said you know this world, don’t you?» he asked Sora. «Have you already been here?»

«Yeah, I have friends here.» Sora grinned widely and leant against the mast.

Their clothes had changed when they had exited the Lanes Between and dismissed their armors (Sora still had to get used to the one he had borrowed): now Sora was wearing a leather coat that seemed entirely made out of patches, striped trousers, a red vest over a white shirt, and his usually spiky hair were flattened by a blue bandana and a leather cocked hat.

Ventus’s clothes had similarly changed: black boots had replaced his sneakers, his grey trousers looked visibly worn and there were hastily-sewn patches over the knees, his wrists and palms were covered by black strips of cloth, maybe to act as gloves, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, covered by a black vest closed by a green striped sash and a pair of belts, and a bandana of the same color of the sash – he could see it in the corner of his eye – was tied around his head. A closer look also revealed the mark of the Departure inked on his left forearm, and an oddly-shaped star on his right arm.

«Ink? Well, technically you _are_ of age.» Sora stuck a hand under his hat while Ventus examined his own arms. It was not like _his own_ appearance had been left unchanged, the pirate disguise had left him a couple scars on his face and maybe one or two golden teeth.

«What kind of people are your friends here?» Ventus asked Sora, sitting next to him on a plank on the deck.

«Pirates. Sea dogs.» Sora fixed his hat. «Names are Jack, William and Elizabeth. I don’t know if they’re still in Port Royal or crossing some forsaken part of the seas, but Jack will surely be happy to see me. He was interested in the Keyblade when we parted… I don’t know why, maybe he thought he could solve a problem with it.»

«Well, if we’re talking pirates, a key that opens _anything_ means easy treasure.» Ventus, who still remembered his own adventure against Captain Hook, smirked.

The crew still seemed very afraid while they bustled about sailing. Now Sora and Ventus were no longer talking, Ventus could hear them singing a gloomy shanty… something that sounded like a call to arms…

« _The King and his men stole the Queen from her bed… and bound her in her bones… the seas be ours, and by the powers, where we will we’ll roam…_ »

«Now _this_ is new.» Sora stood up.

« _Yo ho, all hands, hoist the colors high… heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die…_ »

A bell started ringing from the stern, and a ghost-like ship with ragged sails and the whole hull covered in sea life reached them at a speed Ventus didn’t even think would be _possible_ to achieve.

_Heartless_ were flying around it.

Both Sora and Ventus summoned their Keyblades, ready to fight tooth and nail, but a wave much higher than the others rocked the ship, and caught them fully, shoving them both overboard.

They both ended up in the water, and without saying anything they started swimming to get back on board. It was no use – the current almost seemed to be pushing them back on _purpose_. As if something wanted to prevent them from helping the pirate ship, that was being brutally bombarded by their attackers. The plank they had been sitting on floated towards them, allowing them both to grab onto it, but the sea was taking them away… the ship that they had been sailing on was quickly falling apart, and on fire… and sinking… Ventus raised a hand from the plank and grabbed Sora’s wrist, if the sea got rougher _they couldn’t get split_ , that was too dangerous… the waves were taking them away, further from the ghost ship…

… and the boy’s last thought seeing the pirate ship sinking beneath the waves was that, _had they_ remained onboard, could have they really made a difference for that ill-fated pirate crew?

* * *

After Sora and Ventus had volunteered to take care of the Caribbean – it was understandable they had to be two, with _two_ Darknesses roaming the place, and just as much that Ventus wanted to go with Sora because it was time for them to learn how to fight together – Riku had found himself with the metaphorical equivalent to a short straw in his hand. Kairi and Lea had just come back from a mission they had _hardly_ completed successfully and needed more time training, Mickey was still in no condition to fight, and Aqua was intentioned to do some research on the Keyblade War in the library of Castle Departure.

It was with utter reluctancy Riku left Lea, Kairi and Shiro at the hangar of Radiant Garden so they could start their research about the missing person – and _yet he remembered meeting them, or at least he did remember meeting someone whose face and voice he did not remember_.

He felt as if he was trying to catch smoke with his bare hands – the answer was right in front of him, and yet he could not reach it.

He was still deep in his thoughts while walking down the ramp – he’d stay for a few hours helping Lea, maybe they could put a couple bits and pieces together – and he almost had a start when he saw one of the people welcoming them at the castle – for a moment he could have sworn he’d seen Saïx, but he immediately felt relieved when he saw the man had grey streaks in his much shorter hair, no scar, and several wrinkles on his face.

«Morning, kids!» He seemed happy to see them.

«Same to you, Your Honor.» Lea was the first to nod at him. He seemed happy to see the man. «Remember Kairi?» He pointed at her with a hand.

«Your _sister_?» the Justice – if he was a Justice – looked at her, then he spoke to her. «I still remember when you came to our place to play with the dog. Now I’ve got a little one again as well.» Clinging to his trousers there was a dark-skinned toddler boy, maybe one year old or something like that, with dark curly hair that had probably been clipped recently and carrying a tiny backpack. «Now, Finn, do we want to say hello?»

«Shiro!» the boy squeaked, then let go of the Justice’s leg and hugged the girl.

Apart from the Justice and little Finn, there also were Stitch, Cloud, and a red-haired man who introduced himself as Genesis.

«There’s going to be a battle. In a world not too far from here.» As a Keyblade Master, it was Riku’s job to explain things to the Justice – Ilyas, was that his name? – and to Genesis as they walked through the hallways that led to Ansem’s study. «Does the name Xehanort ring any bells? We are trying to stop him once and for all. To bring back home the people he took from their families.»

«Finn and I are one of the families, actually,» the Justice commented, and Riku could easily see why he had almost mistaken him for one of the Darknesses. «He’s got my older son, Isa.»

« _Terra_!» Stitch added, skipping on the floor.

«Ringing bells would be a way to say it. But he almost tore me to pieces like an old rag doll.» Genesis was holding himself back not to spit on the floor. «Him and _Braig_. If that old monocle wasn’t the one holding all the strings.»

«You mean Xigbar?» Kairi raised an eyebrow.

«Whatever he calls himself.» Cloud took a hand to his forehead. «He was a castle guard for long before Xehanort came, after all.»

«Cloud’s got a point.» Lea sighed. «Braig was still Braig when the Xehanort we knew here in the Garden was still _Terra_.»

Ienzo was at his usual spot in the computer room, busy talking to Ate and Nines through the microphone. The dark circles under his eyes had grown bigger, and Riku couldn’t help thinking that the scholar was fighting their same battle, and just as strenuously.

«’morning,» he mumbled seeing them entering the room. «Still no news. Ate and Nines crash every time they gain too much data. And after what happened to Shiro I don’t want to risk sending any other wielder in there.»

«Well, here comes the answer to your prayers. Master Aqua said…» Lea was about to announce himself triumphally, but Kairi seized him by the ear.

«Master Aqua _never_ said _anything_ about putting ourselves in danger without a good reason. If you get lost, Xehanort will go looking for Elsa!»

Ienzo folded his arms.

«You had to be really fond of the member we lost, Lea.» He commented with a rare smile. «According to my research, it’s pretty _certain_ Xigbar left a trap in the research data, and just as _certain_ it would spring with a User in there.»

«Maybe we could disable the malware with a system update.» Kairi intervened.

Both Riku and Lea turned to look at her.

« _What_?»

Kairi looked at Riku and stifled a giggle.

«You and Sora really missed a lot, by missing the last school year.» She commented. «I forgot about telling you. We’ve started having computer classes… and the school actually got a new computer room. I don’t _want_ to consider myself an expert because I’m not, but if the programs we’re using to decrypt the hard disk are crashing, we might need more firepower. If the school computers got attacked by complex malware, first thing the teachers told us to do was to update the antivirus…»

Ienzo shook his head and looked down.

«Easier said than done. The OS of this computer isn’t as simple as you might think. It’s one-of-a-kind, or maybe two… it was designed from a researcher from another world who vanished into thin air a couple of decades ago…»

_Wait a minute_. Riku had already heard that story.

«Who, Kevin Flynn?» He tried to guess.

Ienzo looked up and stared at him.

«Riku, how do you know that name?»

«I met him. During my Mark of Mastery exam.» Riku searched in his pockets until he found his exam journal, then he looked in Ienzo’s eyes. «I… he… Flynn died, while I was trying to help. But he has a son named Sam. He might help us. And since I am, as Kairi says, a special brand of thick, I wrote down his e-mail and almost forgot about it.»

He opened the journal to the page about the Grid, then he passed it to Ienzo.

«Tell him you’re a friend of mine,» he said, hinting at a grin.

* * *

«Where do you think we are?»

After falling into the sea after the ghost ship attack, Sora and Ventus had woken up in what seemed an enormous, rocky desert. Which _made no sense at all_ – they were still dressed as pirates, and they both had their clothes and hair covered in dried salt.

«I don’t know. I thought I knew this world.» Sora made a few steps and looked around. The ground around them was studded with round pebbles. «Something big has to be happened, while I was gone.»

“ _You call this big, Sora? We went from open sea to desert! It’s as if we crossed the world’s end or something_!” Roxas commented in his head.

«I don’t suppose you saw what happened when Ventus and I went out cold, did you?»

“ _Last minute news, Sora. I see what you see_.”

«That could have helped, you know.» Sora commented frustratedly. Ventus let slip a laugh.

«Sorry, I wasn’t supposed to do that,» He turned serious almost immediately. «It feels weird, though. Not being able to hear Roxas anymore while you do.»

Sora gave another glance to the rocks. He could have sworn he had seen a couple of them moving on their own.

«Did you see that?»

«See what?» Ventus scratched his head.

«The rocks…» Sora pointed at the closest. Right as he pointed at it, the rock _grew legs_. Literally. It grew legs and claws from its bottom, and started walking sideways, away from them. The one closest did the same thing, and then three more, four, five… they weren’t rocks, they were _crabs_.

“ _Okay, this was unexpected._ ” Roxas commented.

«If those are crabs, they’re going towards the sea!» Ventus started following them. «We _can’t_ be that far from the coast!»

They only seemed to be increasing in number, and Ventus seemed to be right – they all were going in one direction.

There was still the question of what were they doing over there – and what were _Sora and Ventus_ doing there, mostly. Sora felt a lot like the time in which he had landed on Atlantica without knowing he was actually there. He had to be in a part of that world he still didn’t know about, just like that other time.

He could see a huge shadow in front of them, and after the eerie silence, broken only by their steps, Sora could finally hear a familiar voice.

«Now we’re being followed by rocks… never had that before.»

And he, too, seemed to be talking to himself.

«Oh, a rope!»

Sora walked faster… he had not even noticed how _lost_ he had felt until a moment before, but the shadow in front of them… even if beached in the desert… that was the Black Pearl… and the man who was trying to pull it with a single rope, it was no one but…

«JACK SPARROW!» Sora stopped in front of the pirate, grinning from ear to ear. Ventus stopped one step behind him, gazing up and down at the man that, for him, was a complete stranger.

Jack stared at Sora reproachingly.

« _Captain_ Jack Sparrow!» He sighed, then he gave Sora another glance and seemed to recognize him. «Hail, Sora! I’d ask you if you were a mirage, but… I don’t know your matey. _Q. E. D._ , you’re not a mirage.»

«I’d worry more about the ship, Captain, sir.» Ventus pointed at the hull. The crabs had managed to get under the ship in mass and had started lifting it and pushing it forward… away from them.

«Bollocks!» Jack immediately turned and started running after the ship. Sora and Ventus followed him, but Ventus turned out to be the fastest out of the three and after running for a while, leapt on the poop and started climbing up.

A few minutes later, a rope was dropped from the stern, and first Sora, then Jack climbed up and got on board.

«Good. So what now?» Sora folded his arms behind his head while the rocky desert was quickly moving beneath their feet.

A blue line had appeared at the horizon.

«Now we leave these doldrums!» Jack announced, triumphally.

As the ship went up a dune and finally slid down, with Jack majestically posing on a mast, Sora and Ventus leant on the parapet – there were other pirates on the shore. Sora recognized Mister Gibbs among them, and Cotton with his parrot, and Marty… those were Jack’s crew! He knew them!

«I think I know why we ended up here. Let’s jump off!» Sora leapt from the parapet and landed in the shallows. Ventus arrived immediately after, the last was Jack who had to get off the mast.

« _Sora_? What are you doing here?»

A girl had spoken. Sora needed to take another glance to recognize her as _Elizabeth_.

«We’re after the Organization.» Sora explained. «They’re making a mess once again, I guess.»

«On top of everything else.» Another pirate approached them… wait a moment, that was _Will_! Just… how much had they changed?

«Yeah, sounds about right.» Next to Sora, Ventus folded his arms behind his head. «I almost kicked the bucket a decade ago, to help stop their leader-in-chief. Bad grass never dies, I guess. _And_ gets my family.»

«Sounds about right indeed,» Will snorted, then he tiredly reached out a hand for Ventus to shake. «Friend of Sora’s? I’m William Turner, but you can call me Will.»

Ventus was smiling as he shook the pirate’s hand. «I’m Ventus. You can call me Ven.»

«Elizabeth, what happened while I was away?» Sora didn’t waste any time in asking. «You all seem… changed.»

Elizabeth looked around and shook her head.

«Jack ended up in trouble with the captain of the Flying Dutchman. The East India Trading Company took that chance to take control of that ghost ship… as a weapon against pirates.» The girl explained. «Jack had been trapped in Davy Jones’s locker… I think we owe it to you two if you led him here.»

«So that ghastly ship we saw… was that the Flying Dutchman?» Ventus hypothesized. «It sank a ship as if it was nothing but a paper boat. We escaped only because the sea itself took us away.»

A woman with black skin and dreadlocks approached them, giving them a penetrating glance.

«Reinforcements for witty Jack!» She exclaimed. The tone of her voice and the way she carried herself were the ones of a wise woman, maybe a priestess. «I wonder now, are you two da _key_ for victory?»

Ventus made a step backwards and almost hid behind Sora. As the wise woman laughed, Sora noticed _someone else_ in the midst of the pirates on the beach – another familiar face _he did not like_.

«What is _Barbossa_ doing here?» He pointed at him, just as Jack started arguing with the bearded pirate.

«He’s one of the Pirate Lords.» Will explained, making a couple steps towards Jack. «We need the nine of them to summon the Brethren Court. Neither Jack nor Barbossa had designated a successor.»

«Brethren Court?» Sora asked again. It reminded him a lot of _their own_ mission to gather the Guardians of Light.

«Aye, to defeat the East India Trading Company.» Elizabeth finished explaining. «Sora… we’re at war.»

Jack had probably been given a similar briefing by Gibbs or Barbossa, because even from a distance he looked rather shaken and frustrated.

«Leave you people alone for a minute and look what’s happened, everything’s gone to pot.» Jack walked away from everyone with his usual wobbling gait. «Why should I sail with any of you? Four of you have tried to kill me in the past, _one of you succeeded_.»

No one seemed to understand Jack’s final sentence… save for _Will and Elizabeth_.

They both flinched on the spot, and Will turned towards the girl.

«Oh…» Jack smirked. « _She’s not told you_?»

Ventus went below deck and leant with his back against one of the poles. Sora had been _more than happy_ to be back in that world, but he wasn’t too sure that following him had been a good idea.

People who, according to the journal in the phone, had been enemies were allies now, Elizabeth seemed to have turned her back on Jack, leaving him at the mercy of a beast named the Kraken, the pirates were on the edge of a war, and now they were setting sail to escape a dark sea hostile to anything alive.

_That wasn’t the best of adventures_ , even if Ventus and Sora could have left anytime on the glider. But Ventus was sure that Sora would have never turned his back on a friend.

«Will, I couldn’t. It wasn’t your burden to bear.»

He wasn’t alone in there. Elizabeth and Will were busy discussing about something, not knowing Ventus was there as well to try to sort out his thoughts alone.

«If you make your choices alone, how can I trust you?» Will replied to her. His tone of voice seemed calm, but Ventus had already heard discussions like that. _At the Keyblade Graveyard_ , and it had been Aqua who had accused Terra in a similar way.

« _You can’t_.»

He stayed still and silent until he heard their steps becoming farther.

The ship was silent once again, and Ventus slipped in a sitting position.

«Ahoy, Ven?»

It was Sora’s voice. He probably was in there looking for him.

«Is something happening on deck?» Ventus stood up.

«Tia Dalma. She says she’s got a story to tell.» Sora was barely visible in the dim light, but he was clearly gesturing to follow.

It was getting dark on deck as well, and a crew member had started lighting lanterns. Near the helm, Jack and Barbossa were busy examining a map… or probably playing tug-of-war with it. Tia Dalma, the voodoo priestess who had almost frightened Ventus earlier, was sitting near the ship’s bow, and was staring at the flat surface of the water.

«You know of Davy Jones, yes?» She asked the boys.

«Heard about him my first time here. It seemed more like a ghost story, or a legend.» Sora admitted.

«Isn’t that a person’s name?» Ventus shook his head. «I mean, who is he? Someone who’s got Jack on his bad side? And why there’s so much to worry about him?»

«Same story, different version and all are true.» Tia Dalma shook her head. «He was a man of the sea, and with the sea he fell in love. The goddess… Calypso… charged him with the duty to ferry them who dies at sea to the other side, and every ten years he could come ashore to be with she who love him… but the goddess was harsh, and untameable… and the pain she caused him was too much to live with. But not enough to cause him to die.»

Ventus looked for Sora’s gaze, and saw him looking just as worried as he had to be. A person harmed by his feelings _like that_ could be nothing but bad news.

«Too much to live, not enough to die, so what did he do?» Sora stuck a hand under his hat. «One can’t just give up feeling. Not even giving up the heart would…»

« _He did_.» Tia Dalma nodded. «Him carved out him heart, lock it down in a chest, and hide the chest from the world. And now the Englishmen have it.»

«Did he throw away his _brains_ as well?» Sora exclaimed.

The priestess said nothing, and only stared at a small fleet of boats in front of them, each with a single lantern, occupied by one or two people. They didn’t even seem to be blinking… still as statues. Ventus was almost sure they were _the dead_ , journeying towards the final world.

Some members of the crew leant on the parapet to look at them, and Elizabeth seemed to recognize one of the people in the boats.

«Father…?» She gasped. «No… it can’t be!»

Ventus looked overboard. An old man, with a curly wig and a cocked hat, had looked up and seemed to recognize Elizabeth. He looked in her eyes and started enouncing a warning.

«There was this chest, you see… And a heart… I learned that if you stab the heart, yours must take its place.» He murmured. He seemed to have a hard time remembering. «Sail the seas for eternity… the Dutchman must always have a captain…»

By what Tia Dalma had just told Sora and Ventus, it wasn’t too hard to imagine what could have happened to the man – Elizabeth’s father had to know Davy Jones was hunting pirates… and he had probably tried to put him out of the picture, maybe to save his daughter’s life.

And he had failed.

It all felt horribly familiar. Ventus still remembered when, to prevent the X-blade from being forged, the Master had… and _Terra had_ … and what had been hoped as a desperate, unfair as it had been, attempt to prevent the situation from worsening, had actually worsened the situation _even faster_.

His legs were shaking… he hardly could stand straight. Someone had caught him, probably Sora… despite the buzzing in his ears, and the feeling _he wasn’t really there_ … he could see Will taking Elizabeth away from the parapet, and her weeping on his shoulder.

«Is there a way…?» Sora was asking the priestess, his voice almost a plea.

Tia Dalma shook her head.

«Him at peace.»

* * *

Lea turned the key in the lock and opened the door.

Home was just as he could remember it… save for the mess, or better, the lack of it. It almost seemed _normal_ , as if they had had some kind of help in the house when he and Grandma had not been able to do the housework. There were no socks scattered on the floor, Kairi’s toys were in a basket and all the schoolbooks on a shelf, there _even_ was his school uniform on a hanger… it almost felt unreal.

«Merlin’s magic, I suppose.» Lea commented, gesturing to Kairi to enter first. «It was _much_ messier in my memories.»

He didn’t feel much like talking, and he let Kairi see for herself instead, he let her put the pieces of the life they had lived looking at the pictures on the walls, the couch and the old TV in the living room… on a small table there was, empty, the ceramic bowl in which Grandma had served them cookies after the game in which Cloud had scored a home run, and on the floor near the couch there was the jar of blue face paint Lea, Isa and Zack had used for that game.

Wait a moment, what were those doing in there? He did not remember pulling those out before that last night – he was almost certain the face paint had been forgotten in one of his closets, and Grandma had never baked again since Cloud and Zack were gone…

«Lea, I think we’ll have to replace a frame.» Kairi called him from the hallway. She was in front of the wall where Grandma had hung all the pictures of their birthdays, and the glass of one frame had been shattered. Lea took the picture from the wall and examined it – that had had to be his worst birthday, as a kid. The picture had been taken at Isa’s place – he could see Bolt trying to get on the table – and in the picture he could only see himself, Isa, and a toddler Kairi. The candles on the cake were fourteen.

«Someone got in here.» Lea mumbled. «Even if everything seems tidy.»

«It makes no sense. Who would get into a home just to break a frame?» Kairi shook her head, then she entered the room that first had belonged to Dad, and then to them. «It could be just a flaw in Merlin’s magic. Maybe the picture hit the wall too hard.»

«It might. But…» Lea looked inside the room. Kairi still did not remember, and even without her childhood amnesia, it would have been hard for her to remember their lives before the catastrophe. «The bowl in the living room and the face paint… the last game Cloud played before Radiant Garden fell. We all came here, our faces painted in blue, and you stole the last cookie from that bowl.»

«So what’s wrong with that pict…?» Kairi was about to say, but something on their bookshelf drew her attention.

The Children’s Encyclopedia on the top shelf had one volume upside down.

«Why the fourteenth volume has been put upside down?» Kairi stood on tiptoe to recover the book. «And that abacus on the floor, look at the beads, they’re marking a fourteen.»

«In an old movie Isa and I used to watch as kids, Fourteen was the name of a character.» Lea commented. «But I doubt he has a hand in this. We stopped talking in the days before Roxas escaped, and the worst thing is, apart from a few discussions about Shiro and Roxas that _cannot_ have caused all that mess, I don’t even remember _why_.»

Kairi took a hand to her chin.

«Lea, did Shiro have a number? In the Organization?»

He shook his head.

«This Fourteen must be someone important. Xigbar has blocked the Project Replica data. You and Saïx probably had an argument about them, and since so much has disappeared from Shiro’s diaries, they have to be someone very important… almost a best friend, like how she keeps saying Roxas is.» Kairi started pacing back and forth.

«You say they might be a Replica? I don’t get it. Riku’s Replica wasn’t forgotten when he died.» Lea dropped himself on his bed. «Even if we assume Fourteen is a Replica… _whose_?»

«The most obvious answer would be Sora.» Kairi sat next to him. «They did copy Riku, after all, and he didn’t have a Keyblade at the time.»

«It doesn’t make sense. What about Roxas?»

«What if it does? What if the two eventually couldn’t co-exist, like me and Naminé in Sora’s memories?»

A flash passed in Lea’s mind. It was a hazy memory, he could not remember of _when_ , but he remembered Saïx, and a question.

_Which would you rather suffer the loss of: some make-believe friendship, or a real one?_

«Let’s get back to Ienzo.» Lea stood up. «If Sam Flynn doesn’t patch our OS, we’ll have to do this the old way. Put all the tiny pieces together and hope they match.»

* * *

Ventus walked up the staircase, advancing cautiously and silently at every step. He did not want to wake up Sora – he did not want him to be worried after they had fallen asleep laughing and feigning an elbow duel in the same bunk.

Sora had already done his best to calm him down after it had turned out Will had sold the Black Pearl crew to a Captain Sao Feng, Sao Feng had sold himself to the East India Trading Company, Barbossa had revealed a pact with the goddess Calypso, Elizabeth had decided she’d leave with Sao Feng, and the pirates had reconciled _just in time_ to throw overboard the English navy and leave.

After a journey that had seemed endless in the dark seas at World’s End, seeing stars again was almost a relief, but Ventus was hurting too much to appreciate it. Friends turning on each other, a father giving his life for his child, a situation so messed-up and unknown it was hard to understand who was right and who was good… Sora had never experienced events like that, _but Ventus had_. And he still remembered them as if they had only happened the day before.

He dropped himself on a crate and stopped holding back the lump that had invaded his throat until that moment. _He needed_ to cry. It felt just like seeing himself, Terra, and Aqua tearing their own lives to pieces once again.

He had almost cried all of his tears when a splash of wood in the water distracted him from his thoughts, and he immediately wiped his face clean with the back of his hand to take a better look around.

«Who goes there?» He summoned Wayward Wind to his hand and asked, hoping it was not so evident his voice was still cracked.

«Sst… it’s me, it’s Will!»

The voice and the shadow of Will Turner emerged in front of one of the lanterns of the stern.

«I thought Jack had locked you up.» Ventus didn’t put the weapon away.

«Jack does many things.» Will shrugged. «And then he changes his mind a couple of hours later. Get used to it, because it happens way too often.»

He approached him enough for Ventus to see him hinting at a grin. The boy dismissed his Keyblade and relaxed his stance.

«Someone actually opened the brig after sundown.» Will chuckled silently. «It’s almost impossible to know what’s going on in Jack’s mind, apart from the fact he can’t last five minutes without at least a sip of rhum.»

«And what’s going on in yours?» Ventus ran a hand through his hair.

«Davy Jones has my father.» Will murmured. «Shangai’ed into his crew. I promised him I’d kill Jones and free him, and what I did… the pact with Sao Feng, looking for Jack… I’m doing this for my father.»

_Oh_. Ventus couldn’t be certain he understood, but he did feel close to the pirate.

«Well, my brother’s in the Organization.» He sat next to him. «They… struck down our guardian, and took my brother by deceit.»

«He’s not the crazy one with a deck of cards, is he?» Will looked up.

«No way…» Ventus shook his head and smiled. «His name is Terra. We’re not really blood brothers; we were just raised by the same man. Along with another.» He looked down again. «We were lured into a trap… the Organization leader put us one against the other, we could no longer trust each other. I was following Terra because I had been told he’d get lost, but I wasn’t actually allowed to leave home. And our friend Aqua, she had been charged with keeping an eye on Terra and bringing me home. Terra wouldn’t come back without proving himself, I wouldn’t come back without Terra, and…»

«Oh..» Will murmured. «I hope I never meet this leader guy.»

«Don’t worry. The last time he really soiled his hands was about fifteen years ago… to split my heart in half.»

«He did what…?» Will straightened his back.

Ventus unbuttoned his shirt and showed the scar on his chest.

«I’ve been like this since I was twelve. Don’t stare at me like that, I’m right as rain. There _might_ be an evil twin of mine somewhere, with the other half of my heart, and he probably can’t die as long as I’m alive, but… I am feeling fine right now.»

He could almost hear Donald Duck squawking “ORDER!” in his ears, but he needed to vent out in that moment.

«Or at least I was, until it felt like I was reliving everything once again. You, Jack and Elizabeth running after each other. The old man in the boat. What if Davy Jones took one of you?»

«He did.» Will didn’t bat an eye. «And we _still_ came for him.» He remained in silence for a moment. «Jack may look like a permanently drunk rascal and scoundrel, and sometimes _he is_ … but what can look like his nonsense can turn out to _have_ a sense eventually, and at a point he’ll stand grinning in front of you, stating it all went according to plan. Just like when he capsized the ship to get back into the sea of living. When we really needed him, we knew Jack was there.»

«Aren’t you afraid?» Ventus asked Will. «It all looks like a lost cause.»

«No cause is lost, Ven. Not until there’s one fool fighting for it.» Will put a hand on his shoulder. «We’ll serve Jones his just desserts, Jack or no Jack, curse or no curse. Just like you’re going to bring your brother home.»

Ventus didn’t know if Will was merely trying to calm him down or if he really meant what he had just said… but it was true, he _did_ need to hear those words. He was feeling better. Will _understood_. He looked up at him and smiled, then he pointed at the stars above them.

«You know, Terra once told me that the people we love light us up the way, like the stars in the sky.» Ventus told Will. «I understood what he meant only a few days ago… and I feel more and more certain he was right.»

_When I really need you, Ven, I know you’ll be there_.

Ventus had not forgotten it. Even if it looked like a lost cause, even if it took time, he would be there for his _real_ brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple words from Beater: One or two readers might remember a discussion on Discord about misused plots. Yeah, THAT'S what I meant. Also being a huge pirate geek myself, I had to do this right.
> 
> Ventus's clothes were slightly inspired to Will's outfit in the Dead Man's Chest graphic novel. If you want to see how he looks like, there are a couple pics of my cosplay on my Twitter. (it took a month to made the tattoos disappear, they did wash out that evening but I got tan lines!)
> 
> Most of Tia Dalma's words were taken straight out of the script, or the next best thing, so if I didn't get her accent right... well, I'm not even a native English speaker, so forgive me.


	8. What Shall We Fight For

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess we have to thank Shyrstyne again for their help with English words ;)
> 
> Most of the details about San Fransokyo have also been inspired from the series, of which Beater has watched seasons 1 and 2. So, professor Granville, Karmi, Globby, mr. Krei's shenanigans and Noodle Burgers are All There in The TV Show.

«So why is Will gone now?» Sora finished gutting the fish they had managed to catch before docking at Shipwreck Cove. The Pirate Lords were having a council, but most of the crewmen were not allowed to attend.

Sora would have loved to see a Pirate Council, but judging by the noise upstairs, staying in the kitchens to prepare a meal had been the best idea. On the other hand, he could put to good use what he had learned with Little Chef, and during his childhood, Mom had always told and repeated him that there were abilities that were _vital_ for anyone who’d call themselves an adult – and cooking was one of those. He could use the practice.

«We were just done talking when Jack noticed us. Looks like Will had been tossing in the sea marked barrels,» Ventus, who was taking care of the fire, murmured. «He wanted to lure the Flying Dutchman. Kill Jones and free his father.»

«What about the curse of the Dead Man’s Chest?» Sora immediately asked. He still remembered Old Man Swann’s parting words.

«As I said, Jack noticed us.» Ventus put a pot filled with water on the fire and started putting in it pieces of salted meat and biscuit they had found on the ship. «I’m pretty sure he’s the one who let Will out of the brig, in the first place. Jack’s got plans, too… the curse would make him immortal, so now he’s the one who wants to stab Jones’s heart.»

«Oh. _Cool_.» Sora cleaned up the knife, then he started tossing the fish in the stew pot. «So why is Will gone, again?»

«Jack gave him a compass, pushed him in a barrel and tossed him overboard.» Ventus shrugged. «Then he gave me a glance and told me nobody had to know what had just happened, and he didn’t push me out along with Will because according to him my name means something he doesn’t want to have against in an ancient language of this world. He didn’t want to jinx it.»

«Won’t you get in trouble if you told me all of this?» Sora looked at the boiling stew.

«Well, I couldn’t tell Roxas without telling you, and Jack told me _nobody had to know_.» A mischievous grin appeared on Ventus’s face. «He did not forbid me to speak.»

“ _No way. Ventus no, Ventus THIS WAS AWFUL_.” Roxas protested in Sora’s head. Ventus could not hear him, but he laughed. Maybe he had imagined Roxas would react that way.

«Still, I wonder why Will was given a compass.» Ventus turned serious once again.

«He was given _the_ compass?» Sora commented. «That means Jack trusts him. That compass doesn’t point to North. It points to _whatever you want most_.»

«So if Will was leaving traces for Jones or the EITC… and Jack left him with his traces along with the magical compass…» Ventus furrowed his eyebrows.

“ _It means they’re collaborating. Or, at least, Jack is helping Will._ ” Roxas said and Sora repeated.

«It’d be great, having a compass like that,» Ventus confessed, pulling something out of a pocket. Sora recognized the same glass star Aqua and Shiro had, but this one was two different shades of green. «When Aqua made these, she said they would tie us together somehow. As if they were some sort of compass.»

«On our island, it’s a kind of tradition. Sailors make them with sea shells, and it’s a good luck charm to find the way home.» Sora pulled out his own. «Does Terra have one as well?»

Ventus smiled and nodded, then he remained in silence. Something was on his mind in those days, Sora was certain of it, but he had chosen not to confront him not to look like an idiot. That, and he had his own tough nuts to crack.

They had the Seven Guardians of Light even without saving Terra, and that could only mean one thing: sooner or later, the phone in his pocket would ring, and Aqua or Mickey or Yen Sid would announce it was time to get to that accursed graveyard and _fight_. And Sora did not feel ready.

He had seen how fast Ventus had been when the Heartless had tried to board the Black Pearl, and he had been able to stand his own ground against Aqua only because she had already been worn out by Riku first – and despite being physically stronger than Sora, Riku had been slightly wounded in that fight.

As for _Terra,_ he was not too sure it had really been him, but something had happened – just before Pence had managed to call him saying he had found the other Twilight Town, Sora had tried to help Chip and Dale with a strange portal in Disney Castle. Only after arriving at the Caribbean he had realized, after seeing Ventus’s armor and the one he had borrowed: the abandoned armor in the desert, the one who had given him a bad time before “realizing” he was not a Darkness… it looked a lot like the armors of Castle Departure… _what if it was Terra’s_?

If it was, it was bad news. _Xehanort took them out alone_ , Riku had said in the Sleeping Worlds, and Sora still didn’t feel he was quite a match for either of the three.

* * *

Riku did not remember the last time he had been in a cafeteria, but without a doubt this was nothing like his old high school at the Islands. The Periodic Table CaFe was a steel and glass building, and it was filled with students, smells of any kind, and noise.

«I guess you’re still used to high school.» Go Go guided him – ahem, pushed him – ahead until the group reached an empty table. « _Forget it_. This is college, cabin boy.»

It felt almost strange, considering that just a few hours before he had rescued the five kids and their robot from a mechanical Heartless attack on a bridge, just to be dragged in a garage to explain _what_ were Heartless and how could they be defeated.

Looked like the _kids_ – fourteen-year-old Hiro and his older friends Go Go, Wasabi, Fred and Honey Lemon, were students by day and superheroes by night, with the dean, Professor Granville, knowing about their heroic acts and allowing them to use the college as some kind of base. Thanks to her help, Riku now had a name tag on his clothes that marked him as a high-schooler on a campus visit, he had the five hero kids’ numbers on his phone, and Baymax the robot was warning Go Go not to push Riku too hard, or he would fall down and inflict trauma on his arms or his teeth.

«So… you said you’re visiting from Hawaii and you’re considering SFIT as a potential school option after graduating high school?» Hiro repeated him the excuse they had invented along with Professor Granville so that Riku could easily access the school and the city without sticking out too much. «You’d better work hard, we have an entry exam here.»

«Oh, _look who’s talking_.»

A girl had intervened. She looked rather short compared to her fellow students, but still taller than Hiro, who was visibly the shortest person in the room. She had olive skin and her brown hair was tied up in a low ponytail, and she looked rather annoyed. Hiro rolled his eyes.

«Do I have to remind you what happened when you had to show me around, Karmi?»

The girl did not answer and walked away, leaving Hiro with a smug grin on his face.

«Professor Granville wanted _me_ to help her socialize. Let’s just say she talks to germs,» he told Riku.

They all sat at the table and Hiro pulled out a tablet.

«So… this is the city. The mayor has put an evacuation order in the district where the Heartless have been sighted, so for your safety don’t go there… unarmed.» He showed a map. «We’re talking downtown San Fransokyo here, so stores, some business buildings… and Krei Tech, hooray, since I’m an intern there, the internship sucks and I won’t have to get Alistair’s macchiato or his laundry for a while.»

«Well, it was you who begged him to hire you after Karmi got an internship with Liv Amara.» Wasabi pointed out. Hiro glared at him.

Riku chuckled. Hiro and Karmi had to be rivals on campus. That rang some bells for him – their rivalry sounded a lot like… oh. Never mind.

«So, when does this group project start?» Riku looked in Hiro’s eyes, hoping he would get what he was trying to say.

«If you want to see us at work, we can meet tonight at Fred’s. We can get some work done from there.» Hiro closed his tablet and smirked.

Riku spent the remainder of the day feigning a visit to the campus, taking a glance at one of Hiro’s city maps on his gummiphone every time he could. At sundown, he walked to the place Hiro had marked on the map as Fred’s house – which looked a lot more like a mansion.

«Perfect timing, Riku!» Hiro greeted him with a smile. Like the other youths and Baymax, he was clad in a dark-visored armor that covered his face, making him unrecognizable. Had not Riku already seen them in armor on the bridge, it was unlikely he would have identified them. They carried themselves in a different way compared to the students, school mascot, and clumsy nurse robot who had showed him around.

«It’s pest control time!» Fred, covered in a monster costume, happily announced.

«Wait up, I think someone named Karmi might remember seeing Riku at SFIT, if we get filmed.» Hiro pulled something out of a backpack. «Riku, put these on. We can’t afford any kind of risk, especially with that _germ whisperer_ on our trail.» He put in Riku’s hands a visor and a beanie hat.

«Is the germ whisperer dangerous?» Riku put the hat on. This couldn’t be worse than wearing the black coat and blindfold.

«The germ whisperer writes fan fiction about us.» Wasabi shrugged. «Which drives Hiro mad.»

Riku had to refrain from bursting into laughter. _Yeah_ , definitely a dejà vu. He put the visor on and signaled he was ready.

They headed towards the infested district, which seemed almost dark and eerie compared to the lights and nightlife of the city around them. Despite being the biggest among the living beings, Wasabi was shaking like a leaf under his armor.

«The last time it didn’t go well… what if we got it wrong?» He murmured, almost trying to make himself smaller.

«Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing.» Riku walked in front of the Big Hero 6, his phone in his hand with the camera turned on. Since his mission had been mostly in the Dark Realm until then, he _could not_ say he knew the Heartless of the Realms of Light, but fortunately, ever since Ate and Nines had digitized all the Guardians’ journals on a server linked to the phones, the camera could be used to register and identify the monsters. If there was something Sora or Kairi had already encountered, Riku could have read the Journal entry and known immediately how to dispose of it.

They had arrived at the Krei Tech Building when they saw them. Gelatinous-looking Heartless, with stocky yellow and brown bodies, with two stubby arms, that moved wobbling on their own body. Riku pointed the camera at them – and the journal recognized what they were.

They were appropriately named _Flans_ , Sora had signaled them in the Toy Box, in Thebes, and in the factory in Monstropolis. There also were a report from Arendelle, written by Kairi, one from a place called Shipwreck Cove, Caribbean, by Ventus… and even one by Shiro, in the woods of Corona!

«Ladies and gentleheroes, the plot is thickening!» Fred reached Riku. «Globby has been cloned!»

« _Globby_?» Riku gave him a glance.

«I’ll introduce you one day.» The monster boy answered. Riku focused on the journal entry about the Flans.

«These are rather harmless.» He did not read out loud, but he summed up what he had just read so his six new friends could understand. «They’ll go on their own as soon as we’ll satisfy them… _by playing a game_?»

« _Playing_?» Go Go pulled on Riku’s arm. «Just who wrote this database?»

« _Playing increases levels of serotonin in the brain_.» Baymax enounced. « _It reduces stress and_ …»

Fred didn’t let him finish and broke into a run towards the Flans. «Then let’s play!» He shouted, triumphally raising his arms. «Hi there, Globbies, any game you might like?»

The Flans started skipping on the spot, and some of them pointed at their own “heads”. Fred was initially puzzled by their behavior, then he jumped… and landed on the head of one of them.

The Flan squatted, then he tossed Fred up in the air, making him land on another Flan’s head, who in turn tossed him onto another. Fred was laughing and yelling a rhyme about ninety-nine monkeys jumping on a bed, and after a moment, Honey Lemon tossed one of her chemical balls on the ground, creating a trampoline bubble and started jumping on the Flans as well, from the bubble to a Flan, to another Flan, to another… Go Go and Hiro had already begun jumping before Riku decided to join them, and only after Riku jumped from his second Flan, Wasabi joined them in their jumping game, complaining at every leap he was afraid of heights.

Not too far from them, Baymax looked at them, unperturbed, commenting in his flat voice to be careful not to fall, so to avoid trauma.

After a few minutes, the Flans let them descend to the ground, applauded at the six youngsters with their stubby arms, and vanished into thin air. Riku was short of breath and his wound from the fight with Xemnas was pulling, but he could not deny that had been fun.

«I doubt they’ll be all like this.» He fixed his hat. «Those might have been Flans, but they were nothing but the appetizer.»

He mentally cursed himself for the lame joke. He had spent way too much time talking to Ventus before leaving.

As Riku had foreseen, the other Heartless weren’t just as… harmless. He had to explain to Hiro and the others again and again how they were supposed to move to face them, and in many cases Baymax analyzed him and literally filmed him before entering the fray. It seemed Riku’s visor wasn’t just for staying incognito, but it also gathered data on how he fought.

They had freed a dozen blocks from the dark creatures when Hiro announced they could call it a night, and he proposed to order takeout and go rest.

«Is Noodle Burger okay?» He proposed with a hint of a smile. «Riku, I don’t really know what you like, but you can customize your order with the app… and they have the whole menu on it.»

Riku took several minutes to decide – he was not used to such a vast selection, considering the diner at the Islands didn’t have so much on the menu – but half an hour later they were in their civvies once again, on Fred’s couch, busy discussing about what had happened during their patrol.

«So, how do you know how to beat those things, Riku?» Honey Lemon asked him after the others had discussed about what had worked and what could have been improved.

«They attacked my home about a year ago.» Riku looked down. He wasn’t too happy to share his story with people he had known for hardly a day. «Me and my friends Sora and Kairi have learned to fight the Heartless and now it’s _us_ who go after them.» He put his burger down and looked at the part-time heroes. «What about you six? How did a group of college geeks end up as this city’s night watch?»

Fred, Go Go, Honey Lemon and Wasabi all stared at Hiro. Hiro looked at Riku, then he swallowed a mouthful of chips and put the bag aside.

«Do you remember I mentioned an entry exam? Well, it happened right after mine.» Hiro didn’t seem to be willing to look in Riku’s eyes as he spoke. «My work was stolen, and the thief also set the building ablaze. My brother… perished in the fire. I wanted to make the culprit pay… and I would have _made it_ , if it weren’t for my friends in this room. And Professor Callaghan, the thief, wanted revenge as well, he wanted to bring Krei Tech down because it _seemed_ they had caused his daughter’s death.»

It was then Hiro looked up and smiled.

«But the girl was still alive. It was me and Baymax who brought her home.»

«And you almost lost Baymax and had to rebuild him from scratch.» Wasabi pointed out. «And the rest is history. After Callaghan, more criminals have decided to exploit all the mess in the city, so we never really stopped what we began.»

«The dark past of the fearless knight!» Fred commented with his mouth full.

«My brother Tadashi had built and programmed Baymax to help people.» Hiro stifled a laugh at Fred’s comment, but he did not stop narrating his story. «We’re doing all this to carry on his legacy. We use our knowledge to protect our city.»

«Strength to protect what matters.» Riku nodded. «I get you.»

He picked up his burger once again and started eating in silence. Their story seemed much more complicated, and longer than how they had exposed it, but it wasn’t really his business and he did not ask for details.

He envied Hiro a little. Since when he, Sora, and Kairi had not sat at the diner at the Islands, with the old shaky fan over their heads, discussing Algebra homework with a slice of pepperoni pizza in their hands?

He had to talk to them, once he was back at the Castle. He had to.

* * *

On a sand spit near the island of Shipwreck Cove, two men and a woman were approaching three more people, one of which had both… _feet_ … in a bucket of water.

Elizabeth Swann, recently elected Pirate King of the Brethren, was marching, sided by Captains Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa, Pirate Lords of the Caribbean and of the Caspian Sea.

On the other side, Lord Cutler Beckett of the EITC, Davy Jones… _and Will Turner_.

«You be the cur that led these wolves to our door!» Barbossa glared at Will in disgust and challenge.

«Don’t blame Turner… he was merely the tool of your betrayal. If you wish to see its grand architect, look to your left.» Beckett stated in a lazy tone, looking at Jack, who was standing on Elizabeth’s left side.

Barbossa and Elizabeth looked left, and so did Jack, looking rather stupid.

«My hands are clean in this!» Jack raised his filthy hands. «Figuratively!» He started chewing on his nails.

«My actions were my own and to my own purpose,» Will replied, trying to act as aloof as he could. «Jack had nothing to do with it.»

«Well spoke!» Jack triumphally grinned pointing at Will «Listen to the tool!»

«Will, I’ve been aboard the Dutchman.» Elizabeth was the only one of the presents who truly looked concerned. «I understand the burden you bear, but I fear that cause is lost.»

Will sustained his fiancée’s gaze, but he did not turn a hair.

«No cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it.»

After the boy’s answer, silence fell, and for a couple never ending moments all they could hear was the sound of the waves.

Beckett broke the silence as he pulled out a familiar black compass, staring at Jack.

«If Turner was not acting on your behalf, then how did he come to give me _this_? You made a deal with me… Jack, to deliver the pirates, and here they are.»

He tossed the compass, and Jack caught it.

«Don’t be bashful, step up! Claim your reward!»

«Your debt to me is still to be satisfied! One hundred years in service aboard the Dutchman. As a start!» Davy Jones intervened in the conversation, spitting slime at Jack.

Will stayed still on the spot, without doing anything that could give away his position and his true colors. Beckett had mentioned a _betrayal_ , of course, of a tool and an architect, but most of his guesses on that plan were _wrong_.

For example, the tiny detail of Jack and Will being neither the tool nor the architect… but the _bait_. And he was about to bite on it.

«That debt was paid, mate, with… help!» Jack replied to Jones, pointing at Elizabeth with his usual annoying grin.

«You _escaped_!» Jones glared at him.

«Technically…»

 _This is it_ , Will thought. Right where they wanted those two. Jack on the Flying Dutchman would stop being the bait and become the trap. If he was really planning to stab the heart, they could have used the Dutchman and the Pearl to bombard the enemy fleet… just like Beckett had told Jones to do.

And his father would be free.

It was a good plan – it could have worked.

Will gave Elizabeth a glance and a nod, hoping she’d understand what they were planning.

«I propose an exchange!» Elizabeth spoke up, and in that moment, Will had to hold back not to show his relief.

«Will leaves with us, and you can take Jack.» Elizabeth smirked, looking at Beckett, but giving a glance at Will once again.

«Done!» Will immediately allowed himself to smile.

«Undone!» Jack played along, feigning fear.

«Done.» Beckett concluded.

Barbossa grabbed Elizabeth by her sleeve.

«Jack is one of the nine pirate lords! You have no right!»

Elizabeth sustained the older captain’s gaze.

« _King_.» She stated without turning a hair, then she turned to Jack, who took off his hat and mockingly bowed.

«As you command.»

Barbossa drew his cutlass.

«Blackguard!»

By slashing dangerously close to his face, he cut off a string of beads and coins hanging right over his bandana. His monkey jumped on the ground and picked it up from the sand.

«If you be sayin’ something, I might be sayin’ something as well.» Barbossa approached Jack and looked in his eyes.

«First to the finish, then?» Jack replied, then walked towards Beckett.

Will took the cue and walked forward, joining Barbossa and Elizabeth.

Beckett took a step ahead, to end the parley.

«Advise your brethren… you can fight and all of you will die, or you can not fight in which case only most of you will die.»

 _You would not be so smug, if you knew what you just allowed_ , Will thought as he stood on Elizabeth’s side.

Elizabeth stepped ahead herself.

«You murdered my father.»

«He chose his own fate.»

«And you have chosen yours.» The young woman concluded. «We will fight, and _you_ will die.»

She walked off, right to where Will could see a dinghy. Barbossa went after her, and so did Will.

They could only do their best for their plan to work, now.

« _King_?» Will asked Elizabeth

«Of the Brethren Court.» She smirked. «Courtesy of Jack.»

«Maybe he really does know what he’s doing.» Will grinned in turn.

Now… if things could have still gone wrong… he needed to find another captain. And maybe a best man could do…

* * *

_Guided by five young leaders, the Dandelions left Daybreak Town at the tolling of the bells, with the purpose of rebuilding the worlds when the war was over…_

«Uhm, Master… uhm, Aqua, may I?»

Lea appeared in the doorway of the castle library, almost scared to be there. Shiro was with him, looking rather grumpy.

«My Grandma used to _work_ in a library. Every time I put my foot in there I felt like a dog in a temple.» The young man said again.

«Well, there’s nothing much to do for a dog in a temple.» Shiro folded her arms. «But don’t be too surprised if Kairi calls you a blockhead!»

Aqua was about to laugh, but she held back. She remembered all the snarky comments Terra did as a small boy, which had often ended with a reproach from Master Eraqus. With a heavy heart, she realized it’d be her job now to tell off a cheeky student.

«Maybe we have a lead. Someone has left clues in my room…» Lea started explaining.

«You _know_ it was Saïx.» Shiro interrupted him. Lea glared at her, but he started talking once again.

«… and all those clues seemed to point to a number. _Fourteen_. I do remember that, seven days after meeting Roxas, Vexen took to Castle that Never Was a Replica, that Roxas was our number Thirteen, and we all seem to have forgotten what happened… most likely, Fourteen existed, and they also stuck with us for almost a year, because that’s the length of the gaps in Shiro’s diary.»

«Three hundred and fifty days.» Shiro pointed out. «From when I wrote Xemnas was introducing a new member, to when I was grounded and let outside and _there was something we both forgot_.»

«More like somebody.» Lea picked up from where he had left off. «Now we put the pieces together we only remember the puppet, not the person we knew. And I’d bet my Keyblade the Organization is using them as a Xehanort vessel.»

He stayed in silence for a moment.

«And considering all the lengths they’ve gone to put their hands on Sora, I wouldn’t be too surprised if we were talking about a Sora clone. It’d make sense. Also because Shiro was immediately fond of Sora when she met him.»

Aqua nodded. That would have been, along with Terra and Isa, another name on the list of people they’d have to save from Xehanort’s clutches. _As if they weren’t enough already…_

Shiro said nothing, but she walked around the table at which Aqua was sitting, sat on the bench next to her and hugged her tight. She was not talking about it, but there was something troubling her.

«Hey, ‘Shroom.» Lea sat on the other side of the table, and his usual smug tone was much calmer. «I don’t remember them, either. You did all you could, and it was more than enough.»

Lea put his hands on the table and stared at the wood for a moment, then he looked up at Aqua and hinted at a grin.

«She didn’t want to go home. Or that’s what she told me. But I thought… she might have needed to stay at home for a while.» He explained. «I know what it means. Being thirteen years old and… getting kicked in the world before you’re ready. That was my age when my parents…» He looked away. «They said it was an accident in the tunnels under the castle. They were in the fire brigade, you know, casualties on the job, Lord Ansem said. But a few days ago, Cloud told me there’s Heartless under there.»

He looked up at Aqua once again.

«What’s the Keyblade War? What does Xehanort want from us?»

Aqua hesitated before speaking. She did not want to tell him everything, not in front of Shiro – but next to her, the girl nodded, as if she was convincing her to speak.

«It’s not even clear _when_ it happened, just that it’s history and it became legend a long time before our own mentor was born.» Aqua put her hands on the book she was reading. «Seven Lost Masters foretold a catastrophe, and five of them ordered their students to gather light to prevent it. But things went downhill.»

«How bad?» Lea’s face contorted in a grimace.

«Bad enough for a world to be called the _Keyblade Graveyard_.» Aqua looked down. «It’s one of the few remnants of the world before. All we know now is the work of some of those apprentices, who instead of staying and fighting decided to run.»

«And Xehanort wants to… do all this again? Erase the worlds? _Why_?»

«Something corrupted him. Or _someone_.» Shiro intervened, but not in her usual voice. Lea threw her a glance, as if he had already seen the kid acting that way.

«Aqua, has Shiro told you about Ephemer?» He asked her.

 _Ephemer? The childhood friend Ven had mentioned?_ What was that about?

Shiro looked at Lea, then at Aqua, then looked down as her face grew red.

«No… I thought she wouldn’t believe me.» The girl admitted.

Lea made an understanding smile.

«Shiro, this is not The World That Never Was. Be honest.»

«Ephemer… he’s always been here with me, Mom.» For Shiro, Lea’s sentence was almost a permission. _Just how much_ had they hurt her, all that time? «Saïx used to say he’s my conscience. Sora says he’s a friend of Ven’s, from when they were little. And… he’s doing like Ventus. He knows many things… he told me many things.»

«Can he hear us?» Aqua asked Shiro, who nodded. «Ephemer… are you the reason Shiro has a Keyblade?»

Shiro spoke, but her voice was different – deeper.

«No, that’s hers. I just kept it well hidden until she was far enough from Xemnas.»

«Let’s just say he kept well hidden a lot of things.» Lea joked. «Ienzo has updated the Radiant Garden OS. We’ll have to see if now Tron, Ate and Nines will manage to dispose of the traps. If it were so… we could find the data to create Replicas. Roxas, Zack and Ephemer could get their lives back.»

«Naminé too.» Shiro pointed out.

«Naminé too, even if for how she does not interact with anyone, she doesn’t seem to want to live.» Lea turned sad. «That would be Kairi’s Nobody. She has power over memories. For the Organization she was nothing but a pawn, and I doubt she ever understood she can be _alive_ without some kind of purpose, or something who’s supposed to be using her.»

Judging by the anger in his voice, Aqua realized that Lea was probably thinking that, hadn’t it been for Ephemer, Shiro would have likely had the same opinion about herself.

Seeing Aqua looking at him, Lea seemed to calm down a little, and hinted at a smile again.

«Well, I might give her one. Grandma wouldn’t have minded another grandkid, so… I’ll tell that to Naminé. Or at least I’ll tell Kairi.»

* * *

Despite Will had previously reassured Ventus that Jack knew what he was doing, the boy was more and more under the impression the pirates were improvising. And, even if they were only his thoughts, the fact Tia Dalma was tied up on deck with many more ropes than the ones that would have sufficed for a normal person did not reassure him, and not even, _well_ , the fact Will and Elizabeth were being held at gunpoint by Barbossa’s men.

And still no sign of the Organization.

Also, Sora more and more quiet ever since the sunrise? _Well, that would have sent anyone into panic_.

The situation reminded him more and more of the gloomy song he and Sora had heard at their arrival. _The King and his Men_ , and the Brethren had a King, _stole the Queen from her bed and bound her_ , and Tia Dalma was bound, _hoist the colors_ , and they were about to start a war. Was that song some kind of prophecy, a story repeating itself like the Keyblade War? And just why was Sora so pale?

«Apologies, your majesty! Too long me fate has not been in my own hands - no longer.» Barbossa tore something away from Elizabeth’s clothes, then he tossed it into a clay bowl where eight more trinkets had been placed. «Items to be burned, and someone must speak the words!»

A pirate poured alcohol in the bowl and took a lit fuse to it.

«What are they…?» Ventus shook his head.

«Freeing Calypso or something like that.» Sora furrowed his eyebrows. «Those nine thingies. They must be some kind of seal.»

And if Tia Dalma was bound, Ventus would have bet his Wayfinder on it, she _had_ to be Calypso. It made sense, especially since she knew what had exactly happened to Davy Jones.

The Keyblade wielders kept their distance, but both were tense, ready to summon their weapons if something happened. After a first try in which nothing seemed to be happening – and one of Barbossa’s men repeated the words approaching the voodoo priestess until he almost touched her – the objects in the bowl were suddenly on fire, immediately turning to ash.

«Tia Dalma! Calypso!» Will shook off the man holding him back and yelled. «When the Brethren Court first imprisoned you, who was it that told them how?»

«Name him!» Judging by her tone of voice, she did not know…

… _but Will seemed to know the answer_.

«Davy Jones!»

 _Davy Jones_. The same man who had loved her once, and had carved his heart out of his chest to stop suffering. That plot was thicker and thicker, Ventus thought as in front of them Tia Dalma, _no, Calypso_ , grew bigger and bigger until she snapped the ropes one by one and shredded her own garments; and if Ventus had understood Will’s plan, the man wanted to use her fury against the cursed captain.

«Uh-oh.» Sora commented as Barbossa knelt in front of her and attempted a plea for help. «I’ve seen that kind of fury. And when it happened, I had quite the bad time.»

«Did you?» Ventus whispered to him.

«An abandoned armor in some kind of badlands. Covered in dust and rust. Looks like its master’s very hatred against Xehanort is making it move.» Sora explained, keeping his voice low as well.

Calypso yelled something at the pirates in front of her, something unintelligible to Ventus despite he had studied languages during his apprenticeship… but her face and her tone were the ones of some kind of curse. The goddess turned herself into a bunch of crabs, and as she still spoke, she vanished in the ocean.

«Thirteen points from Barbossa.» Ventus shook his head with a bitter grin, as the last crabs left the Black Pearl. The bearded pirate looked rather defeated.

«Our final hope has failed us.» Barbossa stated, staring at the sea.

«It’s not over.»

Elizabeth stepped up.

«Revenge won’t bring your father back, Miss Swann, and it’s not something I’m intending to die for.» Barbossa tried to stop her by grabbing her arm.

«You’re right.» Elizabeth avoided his grip and dismissed him with a glance, nonchalantly walking towards the parapet. «Then what shall we die for?» She turned to Barbossa and Will.

Something in her coolness, in the way she spoke, immediately reminded Ventus of Aqua. He was not wrong, thinking he had already lived moments like that… Elizabeth had the same resolve of Aqua at the Graveyard, almost twelve years before.

«You will listen to me.» Elizabeth kept talking, louder and louder. She grabbed a rope and hauled herself up on the parapet to be seen and heard. «Listen! The brethren will still be looking here to us, to the Black Pearl to lead, and what will they see? Frightened bilge rats aboard a derelict ship? No! They will see free men, and freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our cannons, they will hear the ring of our swords and they will know what we can do!»

As the young woman spoke, Ventus felt a lump rising in his throat. He would have wanted that in those few minutes of silence, at the Graveyard, they could have remained united like that crew, before Xehanort, Vanitas, and Braig attacked. Like them twelve years before, the pirates did not match their enemy in power, but _unlike them_ , they were entering that fight with their head held high. Maybe they _would_ have been defeated, and Ventus and Sora would have come home with a sad story to tell, but they were willing to go out with a bang, either to victory or to the bitter end.

Ventus had had that privilege only in the intimacy of his own heart, challenging Vanitas who just could not understand why he kept fighting.

 _I’ve become part of their heart, just like they have become a part of mine_.

«… by the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs, and the courage of our hearts!»

The golden-haired woman seemed to be about to cry… and Ventus really couldn’t blame her. But, in that moment, Elizabeth had to show herself strong, and that was what she was doing.

«Gentlemen, hoist the colors!»

The pirates of the Black Pearl raised the black flag on their ship, and so did all the others behind them.

But the Pearl was the first and only ship to advance.

In the mist, right in front of them, the Flying Dutchman had appeared.

* * *

«This had better be good!» Vexen couldn’t avoid turning up his nose for the stench of fish and _decay_ aboard the Flying Dutchman. «If that Xigbar demon only sent us here to put his hands on my experiments and send them into battle before they’re ready, I’ll gouge out his remaining eye!»

They were hidden in the brig, ready to move and look for the Dead Man’s Chest – the _black box_? – as soon as the naval battle would have brought all hands on deck.

Xigbar had mentioned the box contained something like… _hope_ , and according to some of the human-looking crewmen they had managed to address – one of them, a Bootstrap Bill who sounded a lot like a broken music box for how he repeated sentences – the chest contained the captain’s heart.

If there was a chance to isolate someone’s heart somehow – a way that did not require a Keyblade – maybe there was the ghost of a chance No.i, responsive as a rock ever since it had opened their eyes, brought only to live by the last data Vexen had gathered before being sent off to Castle Oblivion the previous year, could have back their life and remember the person they were.

 _I’m trying to find a way to remind the people they were close to_ , Saïx had said, _Lea and Shiro seem to have some residual memories… but not enough to really remember._

It was not easy, when no one really remembered the identity the Replica had made for themselves. By all logic, they had to look like Sora, or maybe Roxas, but the face they had taken was impersonal and anonymous, and their voice, the very few times they spoke to answer a question, was the incomplete one of a child who had yet to grow up.

Luxord, the other stowaway in the room, turned to him.

«We’ll just need to find Jack Sparrow. He carries on his person a compass that points to whatever its holder wants most in the world. Even if the Chest could not be what we’re looking for, I’ll take that trinket and deliver it to the Superior.»

* * *

«Hey, nephew!»

An annoyingly familiar voice distracted Noctis from his walk. To return the favor of the date in New York, he had decided to take Luna around for a stroll in town – mostly the Tram Commons, Sunset Terrace, the “seven wonders” he and his friends had debunked, and the movie theater that had finally reopened after years.

In that very same moment, the Old Guy, hat, coat, walking stick and all, was sitting at a table outside the Bistrot, playing chess with another old man, who had a long white beard, a blue tunic and a crooked, pointed wizard hat.

Noctis had not had any conversation with the Old Guy yet ever since they had gotten home, determined more than ever to avoid him now Luna was there, but _he_ did not seem to share his opinion.

«What?» Noctis reluctantly approached his elder relative.

«I took some of your old clothes of when you were in ninth grade from the crates in the basement. A kid appeared out of nowhere in Traverse Town, and he had a desperate need for clothes that fit.» The old man shrugged. «I don’t think you’re going to wea… _wait a moment_ , young man, is that your girlfriend by any chance?»

Noctis said nothing, almost moving instinctively to shield Luna from his relative’s line of sight. If there was anyone, he could not bear being too close to her… well, it was the Old Guy.

«Come on, boy, how many times do I have to tell you I don’t bite?»

«Let it go, Noct.» Luna stepped in front of him. «You’re his… uncle or something, right? Noctis told me about you. I guess I have to thank you if we met. Nice to meet you, my name is Luna, I’m in medical school and when I’m not studying, I’m a practitioner of the Mystical Arts.»

The Old Guy propped himself up with his stick, but did not shake her hand despite Luna reaching out. Noctis’s mind went back to the Fulcra Doctor Strange had mentioned to him and his friends, and then Luna had explained to Sora in detail, and wondered what could have done the Old… what could have done _Ardyn_ to them in another timeline for them to be so mutually wary of each other.

Only Luna seemed to be willingly resisting to that unexplainable scorn.

«Merlin here says another storm is coming.» Ardyn pointed at his board game opponent with a thumb.

«Yeah, we did meet a boy who seems to be fighting the Darkness, though.» Noctis stuck a hand in his pocket. «Sora is the name. And there’s also Riku, and Aqua, and Mickey. They call themselves the Guardians of Light. They’re keeping an eye on seven girls who seem to have hearts of pure light.»

«And Sora did mention a kid named Roxas who seems to have spent a long time here in this town.» Luna added. «And yet no one seems to remember him.»

«People should keep their eyes peeled. I saw many strangers myself, especially during last year. Wearing black coats.» Ardyn nodded. «And I don’t think I’ve been the only one. The kid at the pub… and little Vivi too… saw them as well. It can’t be a coincidence. Have you thought of patrolling the town?»

«Let’s just say Prompto’s brother beat us to it.» Noctis commented, almost in embarrass. Ardyn squashed his own hat with his palm.

« _Again_? Those kids are fifteen.» The old man heavily sighed and hissed between his teeth. «I’m going to talk to the boy’s parents. They should stop getting themselves in danger. If there’s someone who should take care of this… _Noctis_ … it’s you and your friends. I did not send you around the worlds for _someone else_ to get in danger when you’re back home!»

As it always happened the rare times he said it out loud, Ardyn seemed to have a very hard time pronouncing Noctis’s name. And as it always happened the rare times he heard it, Noctis clenched his teeth and had to restrain himself from using the closest hazardous object as an improvised weapon.

«I think we’d better look for Prompto and the others.» Luna took Noctis aside. «Let’s go.» She took his hand and led him to the tram stop. Only when they were far from the Old Guy, on the carriage that would take them to Prompto and Pence’s home, Noctis allowed himself to relax.

It was then he noticed the tension and fear in Luna’s gaze.

«I hope he didn’t really upset you. The Old Guy is really unbearable… but he’s not _mean_ , after all.»

They got off, and it was at the deserted stop Luna leant on the closest wall.

«That man _stabbed me to death_ ,» she stated in a whisper.

«What?» Noctis shook his head in disbelief. Did she really mean _Ardyn_? That old guy wouldn’t hurt a fly… he was even more harmless than Santa Claus himself…

«… and my brother as well. And he tried to kill _you_.»

The boy shook his head. Not the Old Guy… not him, he had always had good intentions…

Luna looked in his eyes.

«You had to gain a power that would kill you to defeat him once and for all. You did.» The girl’s face was so serious it seemed almost emotionless. «I felt… I felt all of this as I stood close and talked to him. And I also think that, in another timeline, we allied at the end to defeat a deranged deity. I understand why it’s so hard for you to talk to him, despite you two being family. I understand why it is so hard for him to say your name.»

«Is this the reason why I can’t stand him?» That feeling finally started making somewhat sense. «I did feel there was something wrong with him. Ardyn… he’s still a good man. It was him who first realized the darkness and stars going out could be dangerous.»

«What happened to the _other_ us should not put too much of an influence of our lives, here and now.» Luna smiled. «Here and now, it’s not up to us to be the heroes.»

They crossed the road and headed towards the door of Prompto and Pence’s house. Luna stopped before ringing the doorbell.

«But this won’t stop us from lending a hand.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For whoever doesn't know, Ventus is Latin for "wind", which is really something Captain Jack Sparrow would never want to have as an enemy!
> 
> So yeah, you may have realized there'll be no "Hey loser" this time. =P


	9. Broken Mirrors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writer's block strikes back - and the Riku scenes were the worst, he's quite the complex character.
> 
> Pss: do notice the details! They're here for a purpose!

Of all things Jack would have expected in that battle, he would have never foreseen a maelstrom, a huge whirlpool, to draw the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman away from the fleets.

According to legends, only someone with an immense power – someone like Calypso – could have achieved that… _oh, wait_. Hector had probably freed her.

Well, it was a question that wasn’t worth asking. Then again, at the end of the battle it was unlikely he’d get his own answers without getting a curse.

Elizabeth and the others counted on him, _aye_. Find the Chest. Tear the key from the Captain’s tenticley beard. Stab the heart, take his place.

Piece of cake, aye. The Captain’s quarters were deserted – the crew was busy with cannons and sails, and he only needed to distract the two British marines at the swivel cannons to leave with the Dead Man’s Chest.

As for the key, his compass pointed to…

… a pool of shadows expanded in front of him, and one of those _repugnant_ strangers in black appeared. Aye, that was Luxord, the one who had tried to curse half of Port Royal with his medallion-eating monster!

… and he had also appeared before Elizabeth had shackled Jack to his own ship’s mast, leaving him to the Kraken; he had even tried to follow them to Isla Cruces (which Jack had appreciated, Jones had asked for a hundred souls in exchange for his and…) and had _somewhat_ found out from that Norrington destitute what they had been looking for.

«So, you got what you want.» The pain in the _chest_ said. «Perhaps you’re the better player among us. However, I must demand you give that to me.»

« _Pardon_? You must be mistaken, mate. I’ll not be giving you anything.» That was out of the question. If they had to get out of there alive, Jones had to die, and Jack had to do it.

«Then I invoke the right of parle…» Luxord tried to resort to _parley_ , like he had done _every single time_ he had shown there his ugly mug. As if Jack would have granted it – parley was only within the Brethren, and people like Luxord, and a few years before him Elizabeth kept forgetting that tiny little detail.

«Uhp, no, _no parley_.» Without thinking too much, Jack approached Luxord, speaking as loud as he could. «Look around. We're a little busy.» It looked like his old bad breath trick was working, because the nuisance in front of him was stepping backwards… one, two… he was closer and closer to the parapet.

Jack breathed on his face, and Luxord leaped backwards… falling overboard, right into the raging waters.

Aye, that still worked. _Infallible_.

Then, the compass pointed right behind him.

He heard Davy Jones’s cackle behind his back.

«Lookie here, boys. A lost bird… a lost bird that never learned to fly!»

He turned. Jones, in the flesh, tentacles and claws, was standing in front of him with his cursed and accursed crew, and had just drawn a sword.

He _had_ to have the key on himself, but there were way too many opponents for a somewhat fair fight. He had to even his odds.

«To my great regret!» Jack started looking around. There _had_ to be some lines… «But, never too late to learn, eh?»

He grabbed the closest one and whacked with the Chest the knot keeping it in place. The line pulled him upward, and Jack landed on one of the yards.

Jones was probably already on his trail, but… one on one? _He could do_.

The Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman were flanking each other, and the crews of both ships had started the boarding.

It was only a matter of time, Ventus told himself… without his crew and with his ship sieged, Davy Jones would have gotten in the fight.

The rain was so heavy it was hard to see what was happening a few steps away, and the noise from the battle, the sea and the storm was so loud everything else sounded muffled. The presence of the cursed sailors disoriented him even more, but that confusion lasted very little – they smelled horribly, a mixture between fish and decay, and their motions distinguished them from the pirates.

«I thought Oogie Boogie was the grossest thing I had ever seen when he lost his bugs!» Sora commented, visibly pale and queasy despite the weather.

«Live and learn, I guess!» Ventus replied to him with a smirk as he shoved the closest two monsters with an Aeroga.

«Let’s secure the ship, then we go help Jack!» Will sided them, then he raised a gun and shot at one of the cursed sailors swinging from a line.

«Yeah. Good idea.» Sora nodded nervously. He had been running up and down the ship like a tardy cabin boy, trying to engage and defeat as many opponents as he could.

More were coming. Ventus was tempted to take Sora aside and tell him to save his strength for when they would have boarded the enemy ship, but in that moment, Will did something that drew their attention.

«Elizabeth! Will you marry me?» He asked, taking the girl’s hand.

Elizabeth looked in Will’s eyes, then she was distracted by a sailor covered in sponges lunging at her.

«I don’t think now is the best time!» she panted, repelling the assailant.

«Now may be the only time!» Will replied slashing and kicking at another fish pirate. «I’ve made my choice. What’s yours?»

A Dutchman sailor was approaching them with a crustacean encrusted sword, and Ventus sent him flying overboard with a spell.

«BARBOSSA! MARRY US!»

The older pirate was busy trying to hold the wheel at the same time as repelling a pirate entirely covered in urchin spikes, while others were threatening him as well, but he managed to find the time to answer.

«I’m a little busy at the moment!»

«Need two extra hands?» Sora rushed to the helm with a couple leaps and drew his Keyblade to shield him.

«Barbossa! Now!» Will insisted, as other enemies approached.

Barbossa leaped on the helm and cleared his throat.

«Dearly beloved, we be gathered here today… _to nail your gizzards to the mast, you poxy cur!_ » He kicked away the urchin pirate, whom Sora literally froze with a Blizzara.

Will looked at Barbossa, then at Elizabeth, then at the assailants, and seemed to decided to go on with the ritual despite everything. After turning around the mast to repel another cursed sailor, he took Elizabeth’s hand again.

«Elizabeth Swann, do you take me to be your husband?»

«I do!» Elizabeth grinned.

«Great…» Will was saying, but he quickly had to duck when a pirate with the head covered in corals attacked him. Ventus dashed towards them and casted a Magnega to draw the monster away, then he summoned a mine under him so he could not bother them once fallen.

«Will Turner, do you take me… to be your wife… in sickness and in health…» Elizabeth panted, without letting go of Will’s hand. Enemies were coming from every direction, and they both were swinging at them holding a sword in their free hands. «…with health being the less likely?»

«I do.» Will embraced Elizabeth.

Barbossa and Sora were still busy defending themselves around the helm, but the captain seemed to have kept an eye on the improvised wedding for all the time.

«As captain, I now pronounce you…» He tried to announce, but a British marine assailed him.

«Don’t stop!» Sora pushed the soldier away.

«You may kiss…» More cursed pirates and Englishmen were approaching them, and Barbossa and Sora looked surrounded.

«Come ON!» Sora yelled, but Will seemed to pay no heed to him.

Barbossa freed himself from his assailants and shouted.

«JUST KISS!»

Around the newlyweds there _finally_ were no more enemies. Will and Elizabeth lowered their blades, looked in each other’s eyes, and exchanged a kiss under the heavy rain. In the corner of his eye, as he stood guard near them, Ventus could see Barbossa dueling his last opponent, while Sora was at the wheel, holding it still with a hand and a shoulder, while holding with the other what looked like a Hi-Potion from their first aid supplies, which he held up to his face so he could tear away the cork with his teeth.

«I think they’re less!» Ventus pointed at the Flying Dutchman. «Sora, are you OK?»

The boy downed the medicine and left the wheel to Barbossa once again, then ran to Ventus. Rain was dripping in rivulets from his cocked hat, but not for the first time in the day, Ventus wished he was just as covered as his younger friend.

«Over there! Jack!» Will, who had just defeated a marine, pointed at the mast of the Dutchman. Davy Jones was lying down on a yard, his “beard” missing a few tentacles and his right hand clutching the handle of a chest. On the other handle, hanging literally from it, there was Captain Jack Sparrow, holding on for dear life.

«Time to go!» Sora was the first to look for a line and swing, immediately followed by Will.

They would _never_ arrive that up high in time… Ventus didn’t even think about it. He tossed his Keyblade in the air and turned it in glider mode, then leaped on it and shot up… now he only had to reach the yards…

… and maybe hope that Sora did not get hurt again.

* * *

For the second night in a row, Riku and the Big Hero 6 had cleared areas of the infested district. Riku was more than confident that, once he had taught the young techs and robot how to keep the dark creatures at bay, he could have waved them goodbye knowing they would have kept their city safe until the Guardians of Light would have defeated Xehanort and his Dark Seekers.

They were at the edge of the dangerous zone, and they almost felt as if they were in a normal city once again. The speaker of a nearby clothing store was playing a song that sounded like: « _I know I took the path that you would never want for me, I gave you hell through all the years… so I, I bet my life for you_ …»

Riku noticed Hiro was sniffling as they listened to the song, and he couldn’t really blame him.

«What’s on your mind?» Hiro almost immediately _asked Riku_. The boy bit his lip. It seemed he couldn’t do a proper poker face either while listening to those lyrics.

« _Your neurotransmitter level is irregular._ » Baymax intervened without anyone asking him to. « _Riku, you are feeling. Sad. Guilty. Your heartbeat has increased. The hormone level in the bloodstream is high. Diagnosis: in love_.»

Riku would have wanted to sink in the sidewalk. Why _in that very moment_ his thoughts had focused on Sora and Kairi? And just what was he supposed to tell them once he was home?

Hiro gave him an embarrassed grin from under his helmet.

«I’m sorry about Baymax! My brother never programmed _privacy_ into him…»

Riku was about to reply to the kid, but he spotted a blackish shadow behind him.

«Guys, there’s something here!»

He summoned Way to the Dawn while the others were turning. The creature he had glanced at looked like a black, shapeless mass, made of pieces wiggling together, advancing towards them like a strange, living kind of muck.

Despite the helmet concealing his face, Riku saw Hiro was in shock.

« _The Microbots_?» He was gasping.

«The what?» Riku stood between him and the monster, the Keyblade raised in a guarding stance.

«It was my admittance work. They ended up in a dimensional portal along with the first Baymax…» Hiro hastily explained. «But the transmitter that controlled them ended up in pieces…»

«Well, something tells me Darkness found another!» Riku leapt ahead and sliced the _thing_ in half. He had only just heard Hiro telling him it was useless before the two pieces of monster moved on their own and attacked, just like Master Yen Sid’s enchanted broomsticks when someone tried to stop them from filling up the cistern.

One of the two dark heaps took the shape of a fist, and before he could notice it was swinging at him, Riku was sent flying backwards and he felt two strong hands catching him in midair.

« _I scanned the monster_!» Baymax announced, his impersonal tone almost satisfied as he held Riku in his arms. « _It presents important analogies with those you call Heartless_!»

«So they’re _not_ microbots?» Go Go cocked her head to the side. «Hiro, we need an accurate analysis on whatever these things are. Do you think Professor G is at the labs?»

«Where else could she be?» Hiro shrugged. «Shall I get her help?»

«Yeah, and run for it!» Go Go seized him by an arm and pointed at an alley. «Baymax, take him to SFIT! He’ll need the data you gathered!»

«But… what about you…?» Hiro almost objected, but Baymax, after letting Riku down, he had already ignited his rockets and was waiting for Riku to get on his back.

«It means San Fransokyo will be one of my things that matter for tonight!» Riku summoned his Keyblade once again and raised his guard. «You heard Baymax. This isn’t your thing… it’s Heartless… it’s mine!»

* * *

The Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman were stuck to each other, their masts locked onto each other the only thing that prevented them from getting sucked inside the maelstrom.

Sora had pain in every inch of his body, but he was clenching his teeth to hold on. He had already been into battle – along with Donald and Goofy, at the end of summer, he had probably destroyed what could have been a thousand Heartless in just one day at Radiant Garden, but those were not Heartless. They were grown men, skilled fighters, and human-minded monsters.

To cap it all, _everything was spinning_ , it was raining like there was no tomorrow, and it was painfully clear to him that Ventus was getting by way better than him. Heck, even Will was… he had managed to recover the chest from the deck of the ship, in the midst of battle, and…

… one of the cursed sailors! He was charging at him with a sword, but Will, despite he was defending himself, was not countering.

«It’s me! It’s Will, your son!» He yelled at the cursed pirate.

Sora realized that his friend’s opponent, even covered in coral, barnacles and starfish, still looked somewhat human. And rather old too, could he really be…?

There was no time to think, no, Will had the chest and had to defend himself… and he had to find Jack and give him the chest for the battle to end… what to do… what to do…?

If there was a situation that could make Will Turner completely unarmed, that was it.

He had immediately found the Dead Man’s Chest when it had fallen from the yards, but then his own father had attacked him.

It had even been hard to recognize him at first. He had already been covered in sea life when Will had first met him, but now it was far worse.

What was _worst_ , he had lost his mind. Bootstrap Bill Turner no longer recognized him as his own son, but as the enemy.

A fist harder than the others forced him to let go of the Chest. _Just where was Jack_? He saw Sora’s small figure in the corner of his eye. The boy hesitated for a moment, then he dove on the chest like a kid on a ball, stood up again, and sprinted away.

Just a matter of time. All Will had to do now was to _stay alive_.

From the position Ventus had won himself on the mast, it was rather easy to see what was happening on deck.

He had not prevented Jack from falling off, but he had been able to throw a line at him so he could get back on deck, and with a Thundara he had knocked the Chest off Jones’s tentacled hand.

From then on, his friends on deck were doing the rest: Will had recovered the Chest first, then when one of Jones’s men had gone after him – wait, _his father_? – Sora had snatched the box and was looking everywhere for Jack.

As for himself, Jack was still swinging on the line, but he looked close enough to the deck so he could jump without getting hurt. Now, Sora was on deck with the Chest, Jack was about to reach him, how could they open that cursed thing?

And why was Ventus feeling _watched_?

«We meet again, child.»

A voice. A shadow behind him. On a platform there was a figure covered in a black coat… and the voice was familiar.

«I should have expected this.» A corner of Ventus’s mouth was distorted in a smirk. «Here come the professional party crashers, right at the worst possible moment!»

He bent his knees, ready to spring, and summoned Wayward Wind to his hand.

«So much for a heart of pure light…» The hooded man laughed and took his hands up to remove the hood, showing a thin face, a hooked nose, long platinum blonde hair, and an aloof look in his eyes. «Has someone lost his innocence among bilge rats?»

Ventus remembered that face: that was one of Radiant Garden’s scholars… the one who had taken care of Ienzo. That was _the disappeared professor_ , the one who knew how to make Replicas…

… if only he could tie him up and bring him to the Castle! He was the key to bring back Zack and Roxas… and maybe if they interrogated him… he could have told them Terra’s whereabouts…

Balancing himself on the yard, he ran to the platform, pulling his arm back to charge a slash. His enemy summoned a shield from nowhere and parried, sending him backwards for the recoil. Ventus would have fallen on the deck if one of the sails had not broken his fall. He got rid of it gliding on deck once again, and closed his guard before attacking once again.

«I could be fighting Roxas himself, were it not for your backwards guard!» the Nobody smirked.

«Are you gonna tell him when I’ll be bringing you back to the Garden so you can save him?» Ventus snarled at him. He tried to cast a Blizzaga at his opponent, but it didn’t seem to hurt him at all. Cold had to be his strength or whatever.

«What makes you think I’ll come along?»

«That’s why I’m using Wayward Wind!» Ventus span the Keyblade in his hand, relaxing for a moment. «Come on, do your worst, I’ve resisted for way longer than this!»

The Nobody – _Vexen_ , if Sora’s memories were not wrong – did not turn a hair. From the deck, someone screamed in pain.

«You might,» Vexen pointed down. «But what about your friends?»

Ventus looked down. Elizabeth was knocked away against the stairs, her sword out of her reach; Sora was leaning on his own Keyblade, his nose was bleeding and he looked exhausted, and Jack… _where was Jack_? Hidden?

Davy Jones had been just about to strike Elizabeth and Sora, and he had been the one who had screamed in pain instead, because Will had impaled him with a sword.

_But hadn’t Tia Dalma said that…_?

«Mister, did you forget?» Jones turned his head to Will. Apart from the pain, he did not seem disturbed at all by the wound. With his left hand, mutated in a claw, before Will had time to react, Jones bent the sword so Will could not recover it. «I’m a _heartless wretch!_ »

The cursed captain sent Will backwards with a kick and pointed the sword at him.

Without the time to think about anything else, Ventus looked around for a line that could quickly bring him down…

«Ah, love. A dreadful bond. And yet so easily severed!»

As Sora, with trembling knees, tried to stand up again using his own weapon, Davy Jones was looking from Elizabeth to Will. Sora could only hope that, when Jack had spotted the key crawling on the deck, attached to one of Jones’s severed tentacles, he had actually managed to catch it and open the chest while Sora and Elizabeth were dueling the monster to keep him distracted.

Davy Jones had not even seemed to get tired, and yet Sora and Elizabeth had kept him busy for long – at least until Sora had not received a kick to the face and had hit his head while falling. Everything hurt, and he did not even remember ever feeling so cold, for how drenched he was.

He would have needed an Elixir, but he had finished his stash during the battle.

«That’s not true!» He tried to stand up straight and he managed, despite still being afraid of taking a step. _Jack… please be quick…_

Davy Jones turned to him.

«I may still have a lot to learn about love, but I know what it means to share my heart with others. And it will take more than you to break a bond like that!»

Xehanort had never really won over Riku, nor he had obtained a _real_ control over Terra… what could have been any old Davy Jones, compared to him?

«What does a whelp like you know about the heart?» Jones stepped towards him. Sora clenched his teeth… then the familiar warmth of a Curaga reinforced his legs.

«Much more than someone who’d rather get rid of his!» The deck behind Sora vibrated, and Ventus patted a hand on his shoulder. «Was that really worth it, you _monster_? I only see a big loser in front of me!»

«Ha! What of it?» Jones turned his back on them, then he pointed his sword at Will once again. «Tell me, William Turner, _do you fear death_?»

«DO YOU?»

It was Jack’s voice. Sora and Ventus turned their heads… Jack had opened the chest, and was holding a broken sword in his right hand, and in his left _something_ that might have looked like a science book illustration of a human heart, but was covered in limpets and other sea life. And it was still _beating_.

On the crow’s nest, where he had taken refuge, Vexen _just could not believe his eyes_. Was _that_ what they meant as heart? The mere cardiac muscle?

He had only wasted his _time_ in that forsaken world… and just for some kind of voodoo that would have been _useless_ in bringing No.i back their identity… there was no reason to keep on the charade… no longer.

Time was running out.

«Heady tonic, holding life and death in the palm of one’s hand!» Jack kept holding the sword and the heart in his hands, and was just about to do the only thing that would have put an end to Davy Jones’s life.

Ventus exploited that moment to give Sora a once-over: his nose had stopped bleeding and he seemed steadier on his legs, but he was visibly worn out. He had _definitely_ overexerted himself in that battle.

«You’re a cruel man, Jack Sparrow!» Jones yelled at Jack, but looking at the latter, Ventus only saw a man trying to protect his friends.

«Cruel is a matter of perspective!» Jack replied, staying still. _Just what was he doing?_ Why didn’t he strike?

«Is it?» Jones replied. He moved.

Both Ventus and Sora lunged at him, Ventus was faster, he actually managed to hit him with his Keyblade, but that _thing_ was even more massive than Terra… it was like lunging at a brick wall, and smacked him away with his claw hand… Ventus fell on his back, he immediately pulled himself up and…

_NO!_

… Jones’s sword was sticking out of Will’s ribcage.

Sora didn’t even wait for Ventus to stand up, he had just started muttering a healing magic, but Ventus stopped him… too many times he had heard from the Master that a fatal wound was beyond all cure magic.

Elizabeth was bending over Will, like Rapunzel had been over Eugene only a few days before… and yet this time no magic could save the man… no miracle…

«William! _My son_!»

Someone else had screamed.

The cursed sailor who had attacked Will just a few moments before seemed to have regained his wits. He had a knife in his hand – the same knife Ventus had seen in Will’s hands on the Black Pearl! – and he had started blindly hitting at Jones with fists and the knife. He had regained his wits… yeah, he had, but too late, and only because his son was dying.

«Can’t we do anything? _There must be a way_!» Sora jerkily turned his head left and right, looking first at Ventus, then at Will, then at Jones. « _Ventus… please…_ »

Ventus would have wanted to explain Sora the complications behind healing magic. He would have easily pointed him out how Riku, after being wounded by Xemnas, had never really recovered from that blow to the side, but he doubted Sora would have been able to understand.

The only thing he understood now was that _one of his friends was dying_ , and Ventus probably wasn’t panicking as much as he was only because he _knew_ there was nothing he could do…

«Move!»

Jack’s voice shook them both from their thoughts. One moment later, the pirate elbowed them both, pushing them aside. He still had the blade in a hand, and Davy Jones’s heart in the other.

«You break it, you buy it.» Jack pointed at Davy Jones, still busy defending himself from the assault. «So who breaks it and buys it really _can’t die_.»

He laid the organ on the wooden floor, just next to Will, and closed his friend’s fist around the broken sword. He gave Sora and Ventus a glance, then hinted at a smile.

«Eternity is long… without rum… salty wenches… _and a friend_.»

He let go of Will’s hand. The man’s arm fell down, and the blade he was still holding embedded itself in the limpet-covered heart of the monster who had wounded him to death.

«Do you think he’ll forgive us?» Sora asked, pulling on Ventus’s sleeve. He shrugged.

A few meters away from them, Davy Jones, still fighting his own underling, yelled in pain again. But he did not remain on his feet this time. He staggered and fell, and Old Man Turner immediately threw him overboard.

The sailors of the Dutchman started reacting to the disappearance of their captain. They stopped fighting and started marching towards the point in which the heart had been stabbed, Old Man Turner leading them, his son’s knife in his hand.

«Part of the crew, part of the ship,» they had started repeating.

Without no one holding the helm or tending to the sails, the ship had started sinking into the maelstrom. Jack pulled Elizabeth away, searching for a way to escape the sinking vessel, Ventus turned his Keyblade into glider mode and seized Sora, shooting up while the huge whirlpool was slowly reabsorbed by the sea. Jack and Elizabeth had managed to use a sail as a parachute to fly away.

The Flying Dutchman seemed to have gone forever… and so did Will.

«Vexen was on the Dutchman.» Ventus told Sora. «And even if Luxord was as well, now he no longer is. We have to go home… we have to report to… to Aqua.»

He had almost said “Master Eraqus”. He wondered if he would ever lose that habit someday.

The sea was calm again, but the battle wasn’t over. One of the EITC ships was sailing forward, ready to attack. The Black Pearl did the same, Jack and Elizabeth ordering an attack.

«No, we gotta help.» Sora summoned his Keyblade and stepped forward, almost unbalancing the glider before Ventus seized him by the coat.

«Do you really think…?» Ventus started a reproach – _just why_ did he have to play the adult’s part? – but the sea under them turned rough, almost answering to their words, and three wooden poles… no, three _masts_ emerged from the water, followed by yards, sails, a _whole ship_ emerging from the sea and floating on the surface.

The Flying Dutchman was on the sea once more. But she _wasn’t the same ship_.

The sea weeds and barnacles covering it were falling, piece by piece, and so did the monster figures, and the greenish gave way to golden and bronze decorations.

Even the crew was changing. They were losing their monstrous appearance, becoming once again the men they had been.

«Need a ride?»

Will was at the helm. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, and an angry red mark could be seen under his clothes, but he was alive and at the helm.

There was no longer just one ship against the EITC’s flagship. There were two.

Sora leapt down from the glider and landed on deck, followed by Ventus. For a moment, Sora seemed to be about to go to the parapet and try to help, but instead he spotted a tranquil corner and leaned on the wall to catch his breath.

Ventus gave Will a glance, then he shrugged and hinted at a smile.

As the freed sailors went up and down the ship, getting ready for another attack, Ventus leaned on the parapet and tried to assess the situation. Only the enemy flagship was advancing, and it kept getting closer.

In literally a heartbeat, the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman trapped the enemy ship between each other and riddled it with cannon shots. After just a salvo of cannons, the enemy ship was nothing but a heap of wood floating in the water.

The battle was won.

From the other ships of the pirate fleet, even from a distance, could be heard cheers and celebrations.

The only ship on which silence was reigning was the Flying Dutchman herself, whose crew was still probably coming to terms with getting rid of the curse and being free of Jones’s bane.

«I want to sleep for two days!» Sora commented, wobbling slightly as he reached Ventus. On the stern, Will was talking to his father, then they both stepped down the staircase that led to the main deck.

«So, which one is Ventus?» the old man, who had a hooked nose and some kind of hat over his greying hair, asked.

«You can call me Ven.» Ventus held out a hand. «Mr. Turner, sir.»

«And you can call me Bill.» The man grinned. «I’ve heard you have someone to save as well. Just don’t end up in trouble like my son, alright?» He looked at Sora. «As for you. Sora, aren’t you? Will told me you fought like a lion.»

«You’re about to leave, I guess.» Will admitted sadly.

«We’ll come back and visit.» Sora folded his arms behind his head.

«That’s not so simple, kid.» Turner senior raised a hand, but Will shook his head.

«The rules of this world don’t really count for them.» The young captain smiled. «You’ll see. It was them who pulled Jack out of the doldrums. We’ll see them sooner than we think.»

He waved them goodbye and walked to one of the longboats, then he turned at Ventus one last time.

«And when it happens, Ven, I want to meet your brother!»

Ventus literally _did not have the heart_ to admit in front of Will that Terra…

… _Terra would have been so seasick he’d have puked his guts out_.

* * *

Prompto flattened his back against the biggest oak in the grove and deactivated the ringtone of his cellphone. No one knew the forest like him, Noctis, Ignis and Gladio… maybe except for Hayner, Pence, and Olette, but they were about to be the pupils who’d become better than the masters, if they already weren’t. They only needed two more kids in their gang to be their own “season 2”. And now, the mystery they had discovered had a lot to do with the reason why Prompto, Noctis and the others had left their world.

Prompto silently took a picture of the two men in black walking the path and immediately sent it to Noctis, who was patrolling the tunnel to the town with Luna. The two men were heading towards the mansion, but one seemed to be leading the other. The boy hid behind the gate and tried his best to spy on them.

« _Please_. I have created enough victims.» The older man, the one who had probably been forced to be there, seemed reluctant to go ahead. «I told you… I did not take her. Her disappearance was why I put a stop to the research!»

«And that makes you honorable? You used Roxas and Naminé and threw them away. I doubt there’s a merciful bone in your body!»

_Roxas_. Yeah… those men seemed to know something. That man _knew_ what had happened to Roxas… they had to take him away from there!

He heard behind him the hiss that accompanied the opening of a portal, and Noctis and Luna appeared right behind him.

«I think the old man’s been abducted.» Prompto whispered to Noctis. «I’ve heard them mentioning Roxas.»

The two were still talking. The younger man was demanding data the older one was keeping hidden, and kept asking information about the fate of a girl.

«You are completely deluded, _Xehanort_!» The older man burst out. Next to Prompto, Luna’s eyes turned into fissures.

«It’s the horrible human being…» Prompto murmured, then Luna elbowed him and gestured to him to come out of their hiding spot.

«Uh… gentlemen! This mansion is part of the town’s historical heritage!» Prompto tried to come up with a credible story, pointing the finger at the two. «You’ll answer to Mayor Regis for trespassing if you make another step!»

Maybe the old mansion _was_ part of the historical heritage, but it was ages kids broke into it without anyone really complaining about it – and Prompto knew a thing or two about it, he had been one of those kids.

«What?» Xehanort stared at Prompto in disbelief. «Begone, nuisance!»

«I’m only sayin’ it for your sake, sir.» Prompto called upon all of his cool to stay calm and hope the man in front of him would not turn him into a frog or something. «I know the Mayor, and you don’t want to get on his bad side!»

Behind Xehanort, a spark portal opened, and Luna took the older man by a sleeve and led him away. It seemed Noctis was waiting for that moment, because he grabbed at the back of Prompto’s jacket, pulled him away and tossed a smoke bomb at Xehanort.

A huge black _thing_ emerged from Xehanort’s shadow and intercepted the bomb in a hand, but it exploded anyway, covering the garden of the mansion in thick grey smoke. There was no time to waste – Luna opened another portal and they reemerged in Noctis’s old clubhouse, which now unofficially belonged to Pence and his friends.

«He should not be able to track us.» Luna closed the portal after herself, then she pointed the old squeaky couch for the man to rest. «What were that man’s purposes for you?»

The old man hardly looked up. «Who are you?» His orange gaze went from Prompto, to Noctis, to finally rest on Luna. «I know _what_ you are. As a Princess of Heart, you put yourself in mortal danger, approaching a Dark Seeker that much.»

«Better us, than my brother and his friends. Too many kids in this story.» Prompto climbed the old boiler and sat on it. «So, we heard you mention a Roxas. My brother Pence is… friends with him. Do you know anything about… is there a way to bring him home?»

The man looked up and looked at the three once again. There almost was a glint of hope in his eyes.

«Go call your brother, then. And keep some chairs ready. This might be a long story.»

* * *

«It’s still on my radar! Come on, we’re almost there!» Riku was hot on the trail of the Darkubes (that was the name _Fred_ had given the shapeless Heartless… they had started using it for lack of any _other_ way to call it).

Saying the chase had been pure _madness_ was a way to say it. The thing could split – and split it had, trapping each of the vigilantes before Riku could find a way to free them.

After Riku had defeated each piece, every time in a different way, Hiro had announced them via their devices that there _had_ to be a weak spot – some kind of core, just like it had been for Microbots.

« _Whatever these dark cubes are, they copied Microbots somehow. I’m with Professor G. and we’re on the case. Keep sending footage and we’ll work it out._ »

They were in front of the Krei Tech building once again, and the Darkubes had gathered, forming a shape that might have looked like a spinning heart… maybe.

«Okay, guys, if I don’t strike it down myself, it’ll just keep appearing somewhere else.» Riku drew his Keyblade and started charging at it. «Leave this to me!»

He rushed to the _thing_. One of Hiro’s visor programs showed a place to strike right at the center. He was just a few steps away…

… a dark, human-like shape in a black coat appeared in front of him…

They had a Keyblade – and not just _any_ Keyblade.

«Sora…?»

The figure slashed at him. Riku was just in time to shift his footing and close his guard, and then…

_CRACK_.

The Kingdom Key shifted into another, different weapon as it clashed with Way To the Dawn. Riku felt his weapon vibrating in his hand, and then a shockwave sent him flying backwards.

_Not again_ … he found himself thinking, there was no Baymax this time… something soft cushioned his fall, and he recognized one of Honey Lemon’s chemical bombs, acting as an airbag.

«Are you done messing around?» A voice came from the top of the building. It felt somehow familiar… and yet not.

«What the…?» Go Go looked around. It wasn’t not-Sora who had spoken.

Someone appeared next to not-Sora. And that someone looked like Riku’s mirror image – that is, in a broken mirror. He was shorter, with longer hair, wearing a black coat and his eyes were golden yellow.

«Hey, that shady guy is mini-you!» Fred rushed close to Riku.

«What the…» Riku stood up once again. The Keyblade felt somewhat lighter in his hand… what had happened?

«Surprised to see me again? Last time we were on Pleasure Island, now don’t tell me you actually want to _go to school and be a good boy_.» Riku’s mirror image taunted him.

He vanished once again, and when he reappeared with a red chip in his hand, the Darkubes dismembered in front of them, falling to the ground.

«You’re just a _sham_.» The other Riku taunted him again. «Just like that poor excuse for a Keyblade. You _all_ are just a sham. Losers playing the heroes. Just look around!»

He gestured at the city.

«You’re wasting your lives for ungrateful people. You big tech geeks are sacrificing your careers so a germ whisperer can write crappy fan fiction about you while _she_ gets the job you’d have dreamed of. And what about you, Riku? Or better say, what about _me_? I don’t think turning back on what _you did_ … on what I do… led you _somewhere_ , huh? If my future is standing here alone with a broken weapon, while Sora and Kairi would happily turn your backs on you, well, I don’t think this is where I want to be!»

«… what?» Wasabi looked at Riku and at the _other_ Riku.

«Oh, you haven’t told them, have you?» The other Riku snarled. « _It was him_! It was him who helped the Heartless conquer the worlds a year ago… the poor baby wanted _power_. He wanted to find the man who’d teach him to be strong. He wanted to _be the one_ who saved the girl. But it’s _not_ about you now.»

He held up the chip once again. Someone had drawn a skull-and-crossbones on it with an almost childish trait. The others seemed almost _scared_ at its sight, now they could take a look at it.

«Buddy here is a good fighter, but will _only_ do what someone tells ‘em to do.» The other Riku shrugged. «We could have had Sora or Shiro, but _no_ , you guys had to play heroes, so we made a body… and now we need a heart.»

«That thing is dangerous!» Wasabi burst out at the shapes in black. «You don’t know what you’re doing…»

«Oh, so you want me to put this back where I found it?» The other Riku opened a Dark Corridor, and gestured to Not-Sora to enter in there. «Fine, because _I will_.»

They vanished. A moment later, the Darkubes faded from existence.

«Great.» Go Go commented, in a flat tone. «We’re dead.»

Lights were still on in Ito Ishioka Robotics Lab. Hiro was waiting for them in front of a computer, a cup of hot cocoa right next to the keyboard, his helmet discarded on a desk along with the remainder of his armor, and near him there was a Black middle-aged woman with short hair and dark clothing.

«Are you seriously going to tell me there’s another Riku and the Heartless have something to do with him?» Professor Granville burst out before Riku or anyone else could say “Evening, professor”.

«Actually, it’s Riku who has something to do with the Heartless, not the other way round.» Baymax pointed out from a charging station.

«Well, he’s not the other mirror image we might be seeing.» Hiro looked almost angry. «The fake Riku also said he’d put the chip back where he found it… and if he found the chip, he also found…» He grimaced. «Baymax.»

«Hiro, I am here.» The robot objected.

«You are, but there’s another you out there who has license to destroy.» Go Go commented taking a chair.

«Destroy?» Riku took off the hat and the visor.

Hiro went to Baymax and pressed a circular access port on the left side of the robot’s chest. It opened, revealing three different chips.

«See the green chip? That’s what makes Baymax… _Baymax_. It’s his original programming. His behavior, his instinct to protect and cure, what prevents him from harming anyone. That was the chip programmed by my brother. The second and third were made by me. Number two, red one, is fighting skills _and_ most importantly, superhero behavior. Even if the first one was removed, the superhero chip would _still_ prevent Baymax from harming anyone. Third one’s the overdrive mode, but it doesn’t matter now. Before the superhero chip, there was the red skull chip you saw in your clone’s hands.»

«The other me said he found that chip…»

«If he found that chip, he found Baymax’s original body, the one that got lost while rescuing Abigail Callaghan.» Hiro closed the access port once again. «We have to destroy that chip before it gets reinserted.»

«We can all agree on that.» Wasabi nodded.

But they all seemed _worried_. Visibly.

«Riku, who was that guy in front of Krei Tech? Why did he say he was you?» Honey Lemon asked him.

Riku sighed.

«Because he probably was.» He looked down. «I was an imbecile a year ago. My friend Sora had to literally beat the crap out of me before I could see reason again… and even after that, I still had to spend the following year doing my best and my worst to atone for that.»

He started telling them everything he _could_ about the Organization and their purpose to reenact an ancient war that had erased all worlds and made everything start from scratch. He told them about the Guardians of Light and their mission, and showed them the pictures of his friends, smiling despite their tired faces and recent wounds. Among the people in the room, Hiro was staring at him, looking in his eyes, listening in silence to every word.

He seemed to be relating to that tale.

Riku was aware he was not supposed to reveal all of those details – Donald Duck wouldn’t have been too happy – but they _had to know_. They were just like Leon, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, Tifa and Cloud in Radiant Garden. They were defending their city from Xehanort, and if they did not know an enemy against whom they had _very_ few chances on their own, what chance did they have to protect _their_ things that mattered?

Professor Granville left the room at the end of the story, recommending the kids to go to bed early, with their smartphone close so they could react in case something happened.

«Riku, can I do something about your weapon?» Hiro stopped Riku before he could leave the room. «I saw that kid in black breaking it with their own…»

«This is magic, Hiro.» Riku summoned Way to the Dawn. The point was missing a big chunk, and so was the hilt. «I don’t think you can do a lot about it.»

«Maybe, but…» Hiro pulled a crate from under his desk and opened it, revealing what looked like a heap of chunky black push-pins with two tips.

« _Those_ are microbots. They’ll take any shape you might think of… they’re actually very few, but they should be enough to cover your blade. I have the footage… I won’t say it’ll be the same but… you could try to use them.»

He connected Riku’s visor to the computer and started programming something. Riku recognized the footage of his fighting moves.

«Do you still trust me?» Riku asked Hiro.

«Riku, I…» Hiro looked up. «It’s not _past_ you I’ve met, it’s _present_ you. And had you not saved us on the bridge, had you not helped us to purge the Heartless from downtown… I wouldn’t be here, now, worrying about whether it’s better to trust you or smarter not to.»

He looked down once again.

«And then again, last year I was an imbecile was well. You might have helped the Heartless, but who created the destroy mode chip they found? _I did_.»

He unplugged the visor and put it in Riku’s hands.

«When they show up again, we’ll be ready to face them. And then we’ll see who’s the real loser.»

* * *

Luna felt her heart in her throat as she crossed the portal. She could hardly believe what the two men – Ansem and Vexen – had told her at the kids’ clubhouse.

Her apprenticeship with Stephen Strange had taught her that nothing was really impossible, and she probably would have seen much worse, had she fought alongside him in the timeline in which the Avengers had had to face the Mad Titan… but _this_ … as a medicine student, this felt crazy.

Medical technology, at least in her world, was not advanced enough to recreate a human body from scratch, let alone a teenager’s, matching the one he had lost!

«Radiant Garden? Again?» Noctis emerged from the circle of sparks next to her. They were in Ienzo’s computer room, and Ienzo himself seemed to be talking to programs Ate and Nines on the computer microphone.

«… it’s the backup plan or nothing now. But… the backup plan isn’t a true solution.»

«Ienzo! Something happened!» Luna immediately announced her presence. The young man flinched on the spot, surprised by their presence and by the human-sized bundle of blankets Noctis was carrying in his arms.

«Luna? Noctis? What’s going on?»

«I’ll tell you what. This thing is just as heavy as a person.» Noctis mumbled, leaving the bundle on an empty chair.

«Well, thank you, Captain Obvious.» Luna threw him a glance, then she turned to the open portal, still leading to Twilight Town. «Ienzo, is the castle safe?»

The scholar looked at her in silence, then he nodded.

«Fine.» Noctis took the matter in his hands. «Guys, _clear_!»

Prompto went through the portal first, then came old Mr. Ansem, Ignis, and finally Gladio before the circle closed.

Ienzo made a step backwards, almost leaning on the computer for the surprise.

«Master Ansem!»

The old man seemed almost relieved, if not even happy… how long had he spent far away from what was probably his home?

«Ah… well me, little Ienzo.»

The young man was almost trembling, shaken by sobs.

«They told me you’d gone mad. That you abandoned us…» He approached Ansem, looking down like a child would have done.

«What’s going on? The sensors signaled a breach…» A man with spiky blond hair entered in a rush, with a huge sword in his hands, but he stopped in the doorway once he saw who was in the room. Genesis himself, once again in a uniform – the same as the younger guard – stopped right behind him. His eyes went wide open when he saw Noctis and Luna, but he was even more surprised by the presence of the castle’s former owner.

«Dilan! Aeleus! Come over here!» Genesis called to someone in the hallway. «Cloud, go to Justice Ilyas…»

«Justice Ilyas? I’d call for Sora maybe…» The yellow-haired man replied.

It seemed no one in the room, if they had really understood what was going on, knew exactly what to do. Genesis almost seemed angry, the other boy, Cloud, was confused but looked almost hopeful, and the two other guards who had arrived after them, who wore different outfits (Genesis had mentioned having been a _city_ guard, so there _had_ to be other guards as well!) seemed at a total loss for words.

«Cloud is right. You really _should_ call for Sora, and quickly, too.» Luna broke the ice. «We have a Replica.»

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Professor Granville, we're saying this again, is a Big Hero 6 TV series character. She takes professor Callaghan's place after he gets arrested, and she often supports the team in several ways after she finds out about their hero work.

**Author's Note:**

> Hemlock was the poison that killed Socrates, for whoever doesn't know. Ancient Greece trivia. And all the methods Donald Duck listed to defeat a giant are things Mickey actually did against one.  
> Spilling milk and honey on the ground, a practice called libation, was often done to honor the heroes and the fallen. 
> 
> As for the reason why Master Eraqus didn't want anyone to sit in pictures... use your imagination!


End file.
